Ocean Plastic is a Problem that Matters Everywhere
Why ocean plastic is a problem that matters everywhere.
I’ve written before about plastic, a ubiquitous material that makes up so many things we use on a daily basis like food packaging, our clothes, toys, mattresses and so much more. It is far from hyperbole to write that plastic pollution now threatens the well-being of the planet and our health. First introduced in the 1950s, plastic was lauded for being a modern day miracle material – light, resilient and cheap to produce. But plastic has increasingly become a problem in part because of its chemical nature. Most plastic is made from crude oil and natural gas and its production contributes to air and water pollution and global warming. Furthermore, is a problem because of its long lasting nature and the careless, improper and sometimes illegal way in which it is disposed. Its disposal has become an existential global problem our waterways are filled with all manner of plastic pollution. A 2018 report produced by the United Kingdom declared that plastic pollution was one of the main environmental threats to the ocean , the others were sea-level rise and warming temperature.
That same report estimated that the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean could triple by 2050 if significant corrective action isn’t taken. Curtailing the problem won’t be accomplished by the actions of a single nation or region. Plastic items collected in one study of oceanic plastic waste were determined to have been produced by a dozen countries but the source of the litter was undetermined. Whatever the source of ocean plastic, it all has serious implications for the global economy, biodiversity, and human health. Not only is the volume of the plastics an issue even more insidious is that it plastic degrades into ever smaller and smaller fragments referred to as microplastics. Microplastics enter the food chain at all levels and have been found in everything living thing from fish, birds, sea turtles and humans.
A case study: Fiji's Ocean Pollution
Many imagine Fiji as an island paradise. This vision does not contain the idea that its people cope with a plastic pollution problem. Fiji, a South Pacific nation comprised of more than 300 islands, is located north of New Zealand and east of Australia. As Fijian resident Suzanne Turaganiwai said on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast, “most of the people, in my opinion, they just see the rubbish and they think it’s somebody else’s job. So they think it’s the government’s responsibility or other organizations to clean it up. Whereas it is our own actions that caused the problem.”
Fijians have long depended on the ocean and its resources for food and their livelihood. Fijian cultural traditions grew from a life living in harmony with the ocean. Plastic pollution, particularly from a growing use of disposable plastic items, threatens this and led the government to take steps to curb the pollution. Like many other nations, Fiji has endorsed a ban on single-use plastic bags, encouraged the recycling of plastic bottles, and enacted fines for improper waste disposal. Yet, plastic pollution remains a serious problem.
The seriousness of the problem cannot be underestimated. One study found that 68% of fish in the Suva Coastal Area had some form of microplastic in them. Suva is the capital of Fiji. The research found microplastic in all bodies of water in Fiji. University of the South Pacific Associate Professor Anjeela Jokhan hopes this research will help educate Fijians to the dangers of plastic and the threat it poses.
Suzanne Turaganiwai collects plastic along the beaches of Suva to create art. She thinks the source of much of the debris is local. It seems likely that some comes from places far beyond as Fiji lies in the orbit of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Garbage Patch is an extensive area of debris brought to the attention of the world in 1997 by Charles Moore who was overwhelmed by the sight as he sailed through it on his yacht the Algalita. Dianna Cohen, founder of the Plastic Pollution Coalition and a guest on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series, asked Moore how he thought the trash could be cleaned up. Cohen reported that Moore told her that it couldn’t be done. “It’s spread out in all of the water, in the whole water column in the different stratas of the ocean. It's on the ocean floor. We don't know how much. It’s breaking apart from sun and wind, or from animals chewing on it and mistaking it for food. It’s breaking into smaller, and smaller bits of plastic, into microplastics."
According to Laura Parker in an article for National Geographic, the trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch isn’t simply plastic bottles and straws, a large share is fishing gear. “Fishing nets account for 46 percent of the trash, with the majority of the rest composed of other fishing industry gear, including ropes, oyster spacers, eel traps, crates, and baskets. Scientists also estimate that 20 percent of the debris is from the 2011 Japanese tsunami.” The fishing nets, referred to as ghost nets, are thought to kill about 100,000 marine mammals annually by strangulation, suffocation, or because of serious injury.
Why This Matters to All of Us
Why should Fiji’s problem or a garbage patch in the middle of a big ocean matter to you? Let’s start with the fact that the ocean produces 50-80% of the oxygen we breath. It soaks up roughly a quarter of the carbon dioxide created in manufacturing products and sequesters more than 90 percent of harmful greenhouse gases. The ocean also produces billions of pounds worth of goods and services, provides employment for millions of people and sustainable protein for more than a billion people. As Sylvia Earle, American marine biologist who was named Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine, said succinctly “you should treat the ocean as if your life depends on it, because it does.”
Of the estimated 200 million tons of plastic littering our oceans, the majority can be found floating in one of the six major oceanic gyres around the world. These massive, slowly rotating gyres are the result of ocean currents converging in such ways that they create these colossal oceanic vortices. Now, imagine over 200 million tons of plastic debris thrown in the mix. The results are disastrous. The largest of these, the North Pacific Gyre, actually consists of two somewhat smaller gyres, creating a singular enormous whirling vortex of trash that spans an area larger than the United States. This is commonly referred to as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
In 2020, 367 million metric tons or 404 US million tons of plastic is produced annually. A great deal of this plastic is single use. It’s basically, use once and done. If properly thrown out it is buried or burned and what does enter the recycling process is more likely downcycled than recycled. When improperly handled, plastic ends up in the environment which is a serious problem, because plastic is not biodegradable. It can be degraded which only means that reduced to smaller and smaller pieces, but they don’t disappear. According to Project Oceanus, “Over 90% of the plastic polluting our oceans is made up of microplastics smaller than your fingernail. This photodegradation continues right down to the microscopic level, where we can’t even see the individual pieces of plastic with the naked eye. Instead, we see this viscous toxic sludge where water should be. We are not only polluting our oceans we’re also changing the chemical composition.” Another problem is that microplastics soak up toxic chemicals. Not only do the microplastics clog waterways, but they also kill marine animals by filling their bellies with indigestible plastic that is often toxic too. These microplastics are in the tissues of the fish and shellfish we eat, in the water we drink, and in the air we breathe.
Our lifestyles have become ever more entwined with plastic. It won’t be easy to disentangle ourselves from this dependence. There will be areas where this may not be possible. In the case of single use, disposable plastic we can find alternatives and make the changes with little cost such as using cloth shopping bags and carrying reusable water bottles. Some changes will take longer but where possible it is important to make the change. But for all plastic it is imperative that we dispose of it wisely, carefully, and keep out of our waterways. Cleaning up what is already there is far more problematic and expensive. As the saying goes: “The best defense is a good defense.”
Dan Clark, USFWS, Black-footed albatross with stomach filled with plastic
A Call to Action
A few simple things YOU can do to reduce the plastic problem.
●Say ‘no’ to plastic when you can.
●Deposit plastic waste in well secured trash containers.
●Pick up litter and dispose of it properly.
●Contact authorities when you notice plastic improperly stored or dumped.