Plastic Planet

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Marine Blog 2
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By: Elizabeth Hargis & Shannon Ashworth

Introduction:

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Image result for plastic
From single use grocery bags to your toothpaste, a majority of the modern world's products all have one thing in common: they are made of plastic. So much so that you probably can't even identify how many times you use plastic in a single day. But where does all of this plastic end up after we throw it out? Most plastic ends up in our oceans as well as marine life. In a world riddled with plastic is it possible to find a more ecofriendly alternative?

 Garbage Patches:

 Image result for plastic oceanHave you ever traveled from Beaumont, Texas to El Paso, Texas and then from Harlingen, Texas to Amarillo, Texas? Most of us have not travelled these 700,000 sq miles on one trip. However, if you had you would have traveled the same amount of surface area that is covered by the smallest garbage patch in our ocean. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or Pacific Trash Vortex, can be found in the North Pacific Ocean. This great patch is comprised of the Western Garbage Patch which is located near Japan and the Eastern Garbage Patch found between Hawaii and California. These separate patches are interconnected through the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone. Once a plastic object enters the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, it accumulates. This accumulation is due to the majority of plastics not having a biodegradable quality. These plastics do not disappear but rather get broken down into microplastics by interactions with surrounding organisms and photodegradation.

plastic affect on marine life:
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Plastic that so often drifts from land to sea ends up either in or entangled around marine animals. From plastic rings getting stuck on turtles and resulting in misshapen shells to a mistaken food source ending up in the bellies of animals, the effect that plastic has on marine animals is detrimental to their overall quality of life. The results of plastic in the marine ecosystem can be lethal. The consumption of plastic often fills the abdominal cavity leaving little space for food and can even puncture internal organs of marine organisms. Dolphins have been known to become entangled in old fishing lines, sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish (food), and even sea lions have been strangled by this widespread plastic pollution epidemic (Macklin,2017). While all of these side effects of plastic in the ocean are atrocious, there is one more that is the most threatening and will inevitably have the greatest impact. Plankton and algae are autotrophs that depend on sunlight in order to maintain their role as primary producers. The microplastics that accumulate near the surface of the ocean block sunlight from these organisms. If plankton and algae are unable to photosynthesize, a bottom-up effect will bring the whole food web down. This collapse will start with smaller organisms and continue up the food chain until we are finally forced to pay our negligent dues.

How long does it linger?:

 The average person will never live long enough for even one piece of plastic to completely degrade. On average it takes plastic 450 years to degrade! Furthermore substances that contain Polyethylene Terephthalate will never biodegrade, they’re here to stay (postconsumers, 2017).  The plastic that winds up in our ocean can accumulate in garbage patches or photo-degrade. Photodegradation occurs when the sun's rays cause the plastic to slowly break off into small microscopic particles, often the size of plankton. Initially it may seem like the effect of this would be beneficial to the ecosystem when in fact it is quite the opposite. The tiny fragments of plastic can often be consumed by marine organisms and have a profound effect on the organism. This can lead to changes in the overall ecosystem.

 What you can do!:
A few suggestions to help reduce your use of plastic:
  • Ditch the plastic grocery bags, use reusable canvas or cloth ones instead
  • Invest in a reusable water bottle #fillitupfillitup
  • Check labels and look for any hidden microplastics (often found in toothpaste and face wash)
  • Opt for a bamboo toothbrush
  • Products that often come in plastic bottles can often be found in cardboard boxes (i.e laundry detergent), make the swap
  • Avoid pre-packaged and frozen goods. It often has some sort of plastic somewhere. Not only are fresh foods healthier they’re also more ecofriendly!
  • Give up the gum (it’s often made from plastic)
  • Make your own household cleaners
  • Use bar soap rather than bottled


To fully understand your impact on the planet and what you can do to help make a change click on the link below!


Sources:

“How Long Does It Take a Plastic Bottle to Biodegrade?” Postconsumers, 26 Aug. 2017, www.postconsumers.com/2011/10/31/how-long-does-it-take-a-plastic-bottle-to-biodegrade/.
macklin, malorie. “How the Plastic You Use Is Killing Animals on One of the World's Most Remote Islands.” One Green Planet, 13 Aug. 2017, www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/how-plastic-pollution-is-killing-animals-on-midway-atoll/

Society, National Geographic. “Great Pacific Garbage Patch.” National Geographic Society, 9 Oct. 2012, www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/great-pacific-garbage-patch/.




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