Saving Your Planet
Plastic in our Oceans and How It Gets There
6/10/2022
Our Team
"Plastics don't just stay in the sea, they make their way to every living species on the Earth!"
As we navigate through the climate crisis, one must not forget the catastrophic and horrifying effects that plastics are having on the ocean. As us humans continue to dispose of over a million tonnes of plastic into the sea each year, many fish species, marine animals and underwater habitats and ecosystems are suffering the harmful effects of plastic in their home. In this article, we'll see how this further makes its way into humans through the food chain and how it will continue to affect life on Earth if a change isnt made by 2050.
_edited.jpg)
Across the world, its estimated that over 2 million people have no access to proper waste management. As a result of this and poor waste control across the world, it is predicted that by 2050 a whole rubbish trucks worth of plastic will end up in the ocean every minute. Overall, the fishing industry pollutes the waters extravagantly more than any other sector. Nearly all fishing lines, nets and ropes used are made of plastic so it is unimaginable that as this gets lost down into the sea every single day, it adds up to an astonishing amount of plastic in the ocean in total.
Microplastics
Tiny plastic particles, many microscopic (so small they can only be seen under a microscope) that may come from the breakdown of larger plastics. Microplastics are a massive problem, simply because they are so small they can appear practically anywhere and can be ingested by any living species including humans.
​
Microscopic fibers are being washed out of our synthetic clothing from each individual wash cycle, microbeads in toothpaste and face oils or scrubs are being washed down the sink and run-off is flushing tiny plastic fragments from our car tires, our litter and our streets down the drains.
_edited.jpg)
_edited.jpg)
How Does Plastic Make It's Way Into the Oceans?
As already mentioned, the fishing industry in the biggest contributor to plastic pollution than anything else as fishing resources such as lines, ropes and nets are made of plastic. Over 1 million tonnes of plastic fishing materials are lost or dumped at sea every year.
​
But every - day human use of plastic also makes its way into the sea. Litter gets flushed down the train, run-off and wind blows rubbish onto local beaches and careless and improper waste control means all these products end up in the sea.
_edited.jpg)
_edited.jpg)
_edited.jpg)
_edited.jpg)
Effects on Underwater Ecosystems and Habitats
The consequences of such plastics in the oceans for marine animals and underwater ecosystems are catastrophic.
_edited.jpg)
Entanglements are occurring in oceans all over the world, killing an estimated 300,000 marine animals every year. Sea animals, as miniature as little fish to seals or dolphins and as big as whales and sharks are caught around the neck or body by larger plastics and human-used products such as ropes, nets or other fishing gear which invades their home.
​
Ingestion of such objects are also a problem. Fishing gear, straws, single -use bags/bottles, food wrappers and cigarette butts, to name just a few are being found in the body's of marine mammals by
many scientists investigating the matter. These plastics are in the way of animals who have no way of realizing it is not actually their food. Ingestion is one of the many factors causing death in the water.
How Plastics in the Oceans will Also Affect Humans
Every year plastic is becoming more and more widespread across the world. While plastics which begin in one country can travel, by the sea up to 2,000 miles away, they have begun to make their way into human bodies. Through the air we breath, the food we eat, the water we drink.
Plastic on earth causes serious damage, its non-biodegradable, taking up to 1,000 years for one single piece of plastic to decompose. Its only imaginable what damage the plastic will do inside the human body if it this irresistible on land and killing all species of underwater animals at an alarming rate.
​
But the most worrying problem at the moment is how plastic is making its way into the food chain. The food chain shows how each animal is a source of food for another animal. It starts with the producer who can make food for itself from the sun (photosynthesis). This would be plankton found in the sea, most of which is so small it can only be seen under a microscope. The primary consumer such as fish are next who feed on the plankton. Fish is a food source for seals, seals are a food source for whales and so on.
Scientists have discovered that tiny plankton are ingesting microplastics which means that this will end up in the bodies of fish, seals and whales.
​
We, as humans eat a lot of fish all over the world and we will begin to find that through this we too are part of the food chain - at risk of ingesting much more microplastics than we are actually aware.
_edited.jpg)
I want to remind you that there is life beyond human life and our job is to protect other species - in order to protect each other. Each species, down to the smallest, most microscopic living thing plays a part in the life of one another. In order to continue to live in a clean and biodiverse world and to reverse the devastating impact that has already occurred, we must address the root cause and that is our own individual use of plastics. So today, I urge on you to take inspiration from this article to make a change in relation to your own use of single -use and unessential plastics and to ensure that any plastic you do use does not end up in the sea.