Plastic Waste and Its Adverse Effects

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As more and more people inhabit the planet, the amount of waste they dispose of, is growing in alarming proportions. The essay will focus specifically on wastes into the rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans and the multiple ramifications caused by it. For one thing, when one sees the trash floating in a local river, lake or lying on a beach near a lake or sea, it creates a sight that looks esthetically unpleasing to the eye. However, trash dumped near rivers or seas, has a much more adverse effect than just an unaesthetic look.

The nature and the content of trash dumped in the waters have changed dramatically over the years. If one is asked to speculate on the nature and content of trash dumped in the seas, rivers and oceans, the first thing that might spring to mind would be oil, waste from ships, sewage, chemicals and perhaps radioactive wastes or illegal dumping coming from a factory or a plant located in the vicinity of a water source.

One would be surprised to find that it is plastic that accounts for 60-80 per cent of the marine waste (European Commission, 2015, p. 8). Although plastic is most commonly disposed waste, if we look at our household waste, we would see that only 10 per cent of it accounts for plastic. If we take a walk around a local beach, we will notice that 60-80% of all the trash comes from plastic (European Commission, 2015, p. 9).

The essay will attempt to focus on the marine wastes which originate from plastic because an ordinary citizen may do little to control radioactive wastes or dumping for which huge factories or even entire governments may be responsible. Plastic waste is however within our range of control, and if up to 80% of marine waste is plastic, then it is partially our responsibility and we may be directly involved in curbing the alarming waste trends.

People’s attitude to plastic waste may be flawed, many of them, as mentioned above, view plastic floating in rivers or seas as an ugly sight. They think that because plastic takes ages to decompose, the consequences are intangible and distant. As a matter of fact, plastic, with time, degrades into miniscule pieces invisible to the eye (Kalle & Hirmo, 2014, para. 3). Gradually tiny plastic pieces find their way into the stomachs of plankton and animals living in the vicinity of seas and oceans.

One also needs to bear in mind that plastic consists of toxic chemicals meaning that fish landing on our dinner tables may contain hazardous toxins after contact with plastic has been made. In order to understand the full magnitude of plastic adverse effect, recent research conducted in 2011 indicated that from 12 to 24 tons of plastic is consumed by fish in the North Pacific area alone (European Commission, 2015, p.14).

Aside from human contact with toxins contained in plastic through fish consumption, one also needs to realize the impact of plastic on the entire eco-system. According to various studies, plastic waste causes death of up to one million of seabirds, one hundred thousand marine mammals and huge numbers of fish that are increasing day after day (European Commission, 2015, p.15). It is not only plankton that is affected, but an array of birds, such as albatrosses, dying from eating plastic.

Waste disposal is regulated by international and domestic regulations. The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships imposes bans on dumping oil and hazardous liquids into oceans, however disposal of plastic is not regulated and remains discretionary (Clendenon & Atkins n.d.).

Plastic waste also created added costs for fishing and coastal agriculture. Costs may also be incurred by damage inflicted on the ecosystem. Plastic waste may taint the quality of water, and compromise the ability of the oceans to preserve CO2 (European Commission, 2015, p.27).

In order to address the alarming issue of plastic waste and its adverse consequences for the entire eco-system, people’s attitude need to be altered. For many, plastic is not considered as hazardous and with this in mind, awareness needs to be raised regarding its dangers. This issue should be brought under the national spotlight, TV and the Internet may be instrumental in changing people’s attitudes and behaviors. Teachers at school may organize seminars or conferences bringing the problem into dialogue with natural consequences.

Photographer Chris Jordan made a series of rather poignant and tear-jerking photos showing dead baby albatrosses whose parents have fed them pieces of plastic having mistaken them for food (Schiller, 2012, para.3). It is crucial that we realize that minor littering and leaving a bottle or two near a lake may not seem like a big deal at first, but will, in the long run, result in adverse consequences for the entire humanity.

Reference List

Clendenon, C., & Atkins, W.A. (n.d.) Pollution of the Ocean by Sewage, Nutrients, and Chemicals. Web.

European Commission. (2011). Plastic Waste: Ecological and Human Health Impacts. Web.

Kalle, K., & Hirmo, M. (2014) 10 Important Facts About Illegal Trash. Web.

Shiller, J (2012) Plastic-Filled Albatrosses Are Pollution Canaries in New Doc. Web.

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Plastic Waste and Its Adverse Effects

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