A Sea of Plastic: Marine Pollution and the Death of the Oceans
Farmington, ME
2016, Senior, Creative Writing
“I noticed hundreds of carcasses of Laysan albatrosses. Every single one had a handful of plastic inside its rib cage.”
– Dr. Marcus Eriksen (Martinez)
Plastic. It is in nearly everything. Bottles, bottle caps, bags, food packaging, cosmetics, toothbrushes, firelighters, fishing nets, medical waste, buoys, window glass, toys, clothing, shoes, cars, and more. People all over the world use plastic every day, and then throw it away. But this plastic does not conveniently disappear, as we seem to think. Plastic pollution in marine environments causes harm and death to both ocean organisms and humans every day. Plastic, the byproduct of human consumption, infiltrates waterways and the ocean, injuring hundreds of species of wildlife. This plastic, fatal to the wildlife that encounters it, is then carried around the world by ocean currents, affecting ecosystems everywhere. Marine animals become entangled in plastic monofilaments and fishing nets, often losing limbs or dying. Ocean birds such as albatrosses swallow but cannot digest plastic particles, causing death by starvation and dehydration. Plastic also causes sickness by leaching harmful chemicals into the food web, affecting both animals and people.
Plastic is a synthetic material derived from petroleum. This polymer has extremely strong chemical bonds, making it durable and nearly indestructible. Seven kinds of plastic, which are the most commonly used in mass production, have their own recycling number, which indicates their chemical composition. Number 1, or polyethylene terephthalate (PET or PETE), is found in food packaging and plastic bottles. Although number 1 does not contain bisphenol-A (BPA) or phthalates, this plastic should be avoided, as it can leach other harmful chemicals when heated. No plastic is completely safe to use, but the safest plastic numbers are 2, 4, and 5 (“Safe Plastic Numbers”). Number 2, or high-density polyethylene (HDPE), is used in various plastic products and can withstand high temperatures. Number 4, or low-density polyethylene (LDPE), is most commonly found in plastic grocery bags. Number 5, or polypropylene (PP), is a microwavable plastic, found in frozen food containers. The two most toxic plastics are number 3 and number 6. Number 3, or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), is found in many everyday items such as shower curtains and piping. Number 6, or polystyrene (PS), is most commonly found as Styrofoam cups and containers, but it can also be found as a hard plastic, such as in disposable silverware and CD cases. Both of these plastics leach BPA, phthalates and other toxins. Number 7 is a category for any plastic other than numbers one through six. Number 7 may contain biodegradable plastics, but it is mainly used to label polycarbonates, which leach BPA and should be avoided.
Plastics are divided into two groups, thermoset plastics and thermoplastics. Thermoset plastics are polymers that, once heated and molded, cannot be re-melted. These plastics cannot be recycled and are usually burned, which releases the harmful chemicals into the air and water. The first plastic ever invented was a thermoset plastic, created in 1907 by Leo Baekeland, a Belgian-American chemist in New York. Called Bakelite (or polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride), it was used as a substitute for natural shellac and natural fibers such as linen, and also used to create fake jewelry. Thermoplastics are polymers that can be melted over and over. One common thermoplastic is synthetic rubber, a thermoplastic elastomer that contains some properties of thermoset plastics and is found in rubber tires. Thermoplastics also include all of the plastic numbers from 1 through 7. These polymers are the most commonly used plastics in mass production and can be easily recycled. Unfortunately, in the modern world, these plastics are hardly ever recycled.
Where does plastic go, if it is not recycled? Americans alone use about 10.5 million tons of plastic a year, but only recycle one to two percent of it. The rest of this waste is carted to landfills or littered throughout cities. From there, it can be blown into waterways, which then carry it to the sea. Small bits of plastic that are discarded on beaches by beachgoers get washed out with the tide. Natural events such as hurricanes, monsoons and tsunamis can wash personal belongings out to sea, where they contribute to pollution. It is estimated that nearly 14 billion tons of trash enter the world’s oceans every year. Eighty percent of this is trash from land-based sources; the other twenty percent originates from boats and freighter spills on the ocean. As plastic takes up to one million years to decompose, every piece of plastic ever put in the ocean is still there. This plastic is carried by ocean currents from the shore to open ocean, where it collects in gyres. The North Pacific gyre, often called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, contains an estimated 7 million tons of trash, most of which is plastic. These gyres carry the plastic in circular paths around huge stretches of open ocean, where it causes harm to millions of ocean animals every year such as whales, dolphins, sea turtles, fish and birds.
Entanglement in plastic is a major problem for marine mammals and turtles. Monofilaments such as fishing line and ghost nets (fishing nets lost as sea) become wrapped around animals, strangling or starving them and often causing them to lose limbs. Whales and dolphins swim into open sea fishing nets, which then become wrapped around their tails, flippers, and heads. Sea birds such as albatrosses and gannets can also become entangled while swimming or diving for food. The Hawaiian monk seal, an endangered species, lives in the Hawaiian archipelago around Kure Atoll. With only a little over 1,000 of these seals left, they are declining at a rate of four percent a year. A large part of this is due to entanglement with fishing nets from the nearby fishing harbors. Across the world, nearly 40,000 seals and sea lions of different species are killed every year by encounters with plastic. Sea turtles are also greatly susceptible to entanglement. Every year, nearly 250,000 sea turtles are caught, injured or killed by fishing nets. This includes endangered species such as leatherback and loggerhead turtles.
Animals are also killed by plastic when they ingest it. Small plastic particles or objects float near the surface of the ocean, where they look like food to birds and fish. Once ingested, the plastic cannot be digested and ultimately causes the animal to starve, choke, or obtain a ruptured intestine. Sea turtles and whales have been known to eat plastic bags or large amounts of plastic sheeting, mistaking it for jellyfish and squid. The animal most harmed by plastic ingestion is the albatross. Laysan and black-footed albatrosses are both endangered species. These albatrosses, whose favorite food is squid and small fish, scoop up small pieces of plastic such as bottle caps and toothbrushes while out at sea. On returning to land, they feed this plastic to their chicks. The plastic, unable to be digested, builds up in the chick’s stomach, causing a false feeling of satiation and eventually causing them to die of starvation, dehydration, and malnutrition. Sharp plastic pieces can also pierce their stomach and intestine, causing internal bleeding. If a chick survives for five months, it will cough up its first bolus, which allows it to rid itself of the plastic pieces in its stomach (Moore, pg. 218). However, close to 200,000 Laysan albatross chicks are killed by plastic each year on Midway Atoll, nearly half of the total population of chicks on that island.
Another way plastic can harm both wildlife and people is by leaching toxins into our food and water. Plastic is created by chemically bonding petroleum-derived monomers such as benzene and xylene into long chains, forming polymers. After the raw plastic is created, manufacturers mix in additives such as colorants, antioxidants, fire retardants, foaming agents (for Styrofoam), and plasticizers. These additives are often chemicals such as bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates. BPA, found in numbers 3, 6, and sometimes 7, leaches out of plastic when heated. Number 3 plastic also contains phthalates, vinyl chloride and dioxin, all of which leak to some extent from the plastic when used. These chemicals are proven carcinogens. Styrofoam, number 6 plastic, contains styrene, which is a carcinogen and neurotoxin, affecting brain development (“Safe Plastic Numbers”). These chemicals are introduced into our bodies whenever we use or live around plastic. The toxins in plastic, other than affecting us directly, can also work their way through the food chain and can be found in the seafood we eat.
How do we avoid using plastic? We use so much plastic every day that it seems irreplaceable, but there are several easy ways to help stop pollution. Consumers can choose to use glass and stainless steel instead of plastic. There are also options such as bioplastics and biodegradable plastics. Polylactide acid (PLA) is a common bioplastic made from corn and maize starch. This plastic, when composted, will soon break down; the only side effect is the releasing of methane and carbon dioxide. Consumers can also make sure the plastic they use is recycled and not thrown away, where it will eventually find its way to the ocean. Volunteers can help clean up beaches that are littered with trash, removing and recycling the plastic before it causes more harm to ocean ecosystems.
The amount of trash polluting our oceans is astonishing. There are over 5.26 trillion pieces of plastic in the sea, but we are still adding more. Not only are we harming ourselves with this plastic by exposing ourselves to dangerous chemicals, we are killing the animals that live in marine environments. Our plastic trash is causing death for thousands of species of unique wildlife by strangling, starving, entangling and poisoning animals such as birds, fish, turtles and whales. With options such as natural fibers, non-toxic glass, and stainless steel, consumers can and should choose to avoid plastic products and help save the oceans. Although most people don’t purposefully throw trash in the ocean, their carelessness in disposing of plastic means that some plastic still finds its way to the ocean accidentally. The throwaway culture of today’s world has filled the Earth’s oceans with a collection of refuse and litter that will be there for thousands of years. By avoiding this toxic and destructive substance, we can conserve natural resources, save millions of both human and animal lives, and feel better about our environment. Plastic, made for human convenience, is slowly killing the oceans.
Reflection
My essay is about the death, injuries and harm caused by the plastic refuse of the modern world. To begin, I discuss the types of plastic and their toxicity to both animals and humans. I also explain the two groups of plastic – thermoset plastics and thermoplastics – and their defining properties. From there, I tell how human trash ends up in the oceans, killing birds, mammals, fish and turtles by strangling, starving, choking and poisoning them. My essay also includes the harm this plastic causes humans who use it or live around it and ways for us to avoid plastic and help stop the pollution of our environment.
Throughout my research of plastic pollution, I have found that there is an appalling amount of harm caused by human trash when it enters the world’s oceans. While this is mostly unintentional, carelessness in disposing of plastic refuse means that plastic could potentially harm hundreds of species of unique wildlife. My essay was formed around the idea that this is a serious problem for endangered ecosystems all over the world. I also wanted to express that this plastic not only harms wildlife, but also humans as it works its way through the food chain. By educating people on the effect their trash has on the Earth’s oceans, I hope to help protect the marine environment. By avoiding plastic, people can save themselves and the wildlife of the Earth’s oceans.