Plastic Pollution: How Your Actions Affect Marine Life
Illustration: Nikolai Jonasson
Who do you think is the deadliest predator of the sea? Legends and monsters might be true, taking into account that according to marine life researchers Camilo Mora and Derek P. Tittensor’s article 91% of ocean species are yet to be classified.
Though, there is something that is endangering all marine life from within. Ingesting plastics can cause death across 80% of marine species, as reported by Lauren Roman. This is only one of the problems that marine plastic pollution throws at us.
Just to give you a quick overview, marine pollution influences the ocean’s environment, marine species, human health, food quality and safety, economic factors such as tourism, and it contributes to climate change.
We can place our bets on plastic pollution being the deadliest predator of the sea.
The black hole of the sea does not exist
School visits are a part of the GreenSeas Trust educational program.
Image source: GreenSeas Trust.
Fazilette Khan, the founder of GreenSeas Trust, a marine conservation charity stopping plastics from entering the sea, recalls her first memories of the sea back to the time when she just started out as a merchant navy officer.
“I was standing on the bridge deck of an oil tanker, admiring the view. Imagine the ocean, flat like a sheet of glass without the ripple in sight. It was so beautiful. And then I saw a big tractor tyre with paint cans flowing past. I thought to myself, “Well, where did that come from?” and went to the radar to see if there are any ships nearby that could’ve thrown the garbage overboard. But there was none. And then I realised, that the sea doesn’t have a black hole where the garbage would disappear”
Plastisphere
The Earth’s ecosystems that have evolved to live in the plastic environment are now called plastisphere. This is how far we’ve come in the terms of conquering the world. It’s not what we would have thought, is it?
According to Linda Amaral-Zettler, over 1000 different kinds of germs can survive, live and thrive on a piece of plastic size of 5mm. Due to the durability of plastics and their constant movements around the marine environment, these bacteria can travel long distances and become a possible source of invasive species. It is as disturbing as it sounds.
Marine litter consists 85% of plastic. It is the most harmful and persistent threat to marine life. It causes a lethal and destructive effect on microorganisms, animals, fish, and marine ecosystems.
We’ve managed to accumulate around 75-199 million tons of plastic litter in the ocean with a human urge of consumption without regard for the consequences. UN Environment Program’s report 2021 states that this number will more than double by 2030 without drastic measures taken.
Single-use plastic on a noble quest to conquer the world
The dramatic increase in plastic production started in the 1950s when society first discovered how cheap and durable it is. It started to slowly replace other materials and make its way into our daily lives.
“When I first started working as a navy officer, single-use plastics weren’t so big. It was just at the beginning of its time. Nobody talked about plastic pollution, it just wasn’t something you’d thought about. Through the years, I got to see the change. Before you could see planks of wood floating in the water, but suddenly it was plastic coming in, and it just increased so fast”, recalls Fazilette.
Single-use plastic is now a part of our convenience lifestyle.
When you do your weekly grocery shopping, do you pay attention to how quickly your cart fills up with foods wrapped in plastic packaging? When you have a takeaway, do you recycle the packaging your dinner is served in? When you look around your room, office or your local café having a coffee, do you notice that you are surrounded by dozens of plastic objects?
We don’t deny some of the definite pros of plastic as a material. It’s durable, lightweight and cheap, it can be used for different purposes, as well as it can be hygienic and odour resistant. No wonder it has made its way into our lives so quickly. Though here are some facts, that we might not pay attention to or even realize. Now, it’s time to play a game “Did you know?”
Did you know that…
On average, we eat starting from 5 grams of plastic weekly to 20 kg over the lifetime?
Microplastic pieces were found in the arctic ice? To be precise, more than 12,000 particles per litre of the ice.
Textiles are the main contributor of microplastics released into the water? It counts up to 35% of global microplastic release, followed by tyre dust (28%) and city dust (24%).
There is microplastic in cosmetics, like creams, mascara and lipstick?
Leave us a comment below if you got 4/4. And if you didn’t, share with us what surprised you the most.
The journey of plastic to the oceans
Mostly plastic gets into the marine environment from human activities, like littering and whatever you flush in your toilets. We’ve already mentioned the fact, that microplastics are going into the drain when washing certain fabrics and taking off makeup.
Another way plastic gets into the ocean is when leakage happens during the transportation of garbage. Poorly managed industrial waste and landfill sites, overflowing rubbish bins in the city, littering on the coastal lines – all of this contributes to marine plastic pollution.
How can I help to reduce plastic pollution?
The situation calls for all hands on deck so, we need your help to make a change. It all comes down to what each of us can bring to the table.
““To make the change, you have to take a step back for a couple of minutes. Look at your lifestyle and think “How can I do that?” But the first steps are always getting rid as much as possible of single-use plastics and start carrying a water bottle.””
You don’t have to go zero waste straight away or at all but implementing small habit changes is necessary. Start by learning new things. For example, some types of plastics can be recycled, so get to know your plastics with GreenSeas Trust here.
In Finland it’s very common to have garbage rooms for every residence building that accommodate full recycling. That includes bio-waste, metal, plastic, paper, cardboards, and mixed waste. Source: Ksenia Saburova/Caddyboo
Dig deeper and learn how your government manages waste. Look for environmental protection regulations provided by your city administration and country.
To tackle plastic pollution in the marine environment, we need to reassess our way of living. The change is coming either way, but we can make sure that it’s a positive one.Ask yourself a question, in which way you want to win?
““Everybody needs to play a part. It’s not just about individuals or governments, everybody should join forces. The planet can only take so much.””
