Where does all that plastic waste go?

There are 500 times more pieces of micro-plastic in the sea than there are stars in our galaxy and by 2050 it is estimated there will be more plastic than fish.

Cheap, capable of being made into any conceivable shape, strong and durable, plastic is something of a wonder material. It has proved so useful to humans that since the 1950s we have produced an estimated 8.3 billion metric tonnes of the stuff. However, the victim of this success appears to be much of  life on Earth. And humans, one day, could find themselves among them.

What would modern life be like without plastic?  According to The World Economic Forum, plastic production has exploded over the last half-century, growing from 16.5 million tons in 1964 to 343 million tons in 2014; it is projected to double by 2036. Even if you live hundreds of miles from the coast, the plastic you throw away could make its way into the sea. Once in the ocean, plastic decomposes very slowly, breaking down in to tiny pieces known as micro plastics that can be incredibly damaging to sea life. 80% of plastic in our oceans is from land sources, but what does that really mean? Where is it coming from? Where does all of the plastic go when we’re done with it?

The concern surrounding plastic waste is its problematic disposal. Plastics can be recycled, also be burned, which has potentially detrimental impacts to the environment. Aside from incineration or recycling, dumping plastic waste in landfills or in nature are the only remaining disposal options for plastic waste.

Of the 6,300 tons of plastic waste that has been created since 2015, only around nine percent has been recycled, 12 percent was incinerated and 79 percent was put in landfills or in nature. If current trends continue, around 12,000 tons of plastic will be in nature or in landfills by 2050.

This has been described as "an uncontrolled experiment on a global scale" by scientists.

How much plastic is in the sea?

With more than eight million tonnes going into the oceans every year, it is estimated there will be more plastic than fish by 2050 and 99 per cent of all the seabirds on the planet will have consumed some. It is thought the sea now contains some 51 trillion microplastic particles – 500 times more than stars in our galaxy.

It is found all over the planet, with 300 billion pieces in the once-pristine Arctic and a remote island in the Pacific, the uninhabited Henderson Island, one of the Pitcairns, believed to have the highest concentration of plastic pollution in the world.

Is it dangerous?

Some plastic is toxic and it can disrupt hormones crucial for a healthy existence. Even when it is not dangerous itself or not known to be, plastic acts like a magnet for a range of other poisons and pollutants we have spilled into the natural world.

To sea turtles, plastic bags in the water can look like jellyfish, floating on the surface plastic can appear to be a tasty snack for a seagull, based on millennia of experience, and to baby perch it appears more appetising than the plankton they are supposed to eat.

Unsurprisingly, gulping down all this indigestible poison instead of food is bad for their health. So far, it is known that marine litter harms more than 600 species amid what some regard as the beginning of the sixth mass extinction of life on Earth.

Why should we worry about pollution in the sea?

Killing off sea creatures is bad for humans because we consume so much of it ourselves. Some 92.6 million tonnes were caught worldwide in 2015, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Given plastic degrades to pieces small enough to pass through the stomach into the flesh of fish and other animals, we are already eating some of the plastic we have thrown into the sea.

And, of course, just like other animals that plastic is likely to be finding its way into the tissues of our bodies with potentially harmful consequences.

What's being done about it?

The world is, finally, starting to wake up to the problem.

In February this year, the United Nations announced it had “declared war on ocean plastic”.

Thirty countries have now joined the UN’s CleanSeas campaign, including the UK, Canada, France, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, Brazil, Norway, Italy, Costa Rica, Kenya and Peru. The US, China, Russia and Japan have not.

The UK has banned micro-plastics in "rinse-off" cosmetics, like facial scrubs, but not "leave-on" products like make-up and suntan cream.

What can we do?

Consumers can help fix the problem by making an effort to reduce plastic waste. A great way to reduce waste is to use reusable bags when you grocery shop. People often leave stores with dozens of plastic bags that just get thrown away.

Drinking from a reusable water bottle instead of a disposable one can also be very helpful. If everyone drank the recommended amount of water per day from disposable bottles, it would create an unbelievable amount of plastic waste.

You can also avoid to-go containers like cups from coffee shops and styrofoam containers for leftovers from restaurants. Instead, purchase reusable containers to cut down on waste.

Avoid using plastic straws, even in restaurants. If you like using straws, you can purchase a reusable glass or stainless steel straw. Try to buy household products like laundry detergent in cardboard boxes instead of plastic bottles. If you use plastic lighters frequently, consider investing in a metal refillable lighter instead. Even small changes in your day-to-day life can add up and greatly reduce the amount of plastic waste in the environment.

After reducing your plastic use as much as possible, recycle everything you can. Jars, milk jugs, batteries, and even items like crayons and ink cartridges can be recycled.

If you’re passionate about decreasing plastic waste and reducing pollution in the environment, you can become an advocate in your community. Speak to local restaurants, shops, or other businesses about environmentally-friendly packaging and bagging options. More and more businesses are decreasing their use of plastic supplies because of environmental concerns, and local businesses are likely to take their patrons’ suggestions seriously.

You can also speak to lawmakers or local government members about plastic pollution.Get your friends, neighbors, and other community members involved, too. The more people in the community who speak up about pollution, the more likely your local politicians are to pay attention.

Plastic pollution has a big impact on the environment, but plastic waste isn’t unavoidable. Every time you make the choice to avoid or recycle plastic products, you lower the risk of environmental damage. Be conscious of your choices, and encourage those around you to think twice before they throw away plastic or buy unnecessary plastic items.

Any other problems we should know about? 

Plastic may also be contaminating the air we breathe. Plastic micro-particles from cosmetics and microfibers from synthetic clothes are washed into the sewage system. While many pass through treatment plants and end up in the sea, others particles are caught up in sewage used to fertilise farmers’ fields. After it dries out, it may get picked up by the wind and blown about. Professor Frank Kelly, an expert in environmental health from King’s College London, told a committee of MPs last year: “There’s a real possibility that some of those micro-particles will be entrained into the air and they will be carried around and we will end up breathing them.”

How bad is it?

Perhaps not Earth-shattering, but definitely Earth-trashing. Plastic may end up being one of the defining characteristics of a new epoch in the planet’s history. Eventually, the layer of plastic spread around the world from the 1950s onwards will form a noticeable line in the sedimentary rocks of the future.

And that is one reason – along with radioactive fallout from nuclear bomb tests, pollution, climate change effects such as higher sea levels, and the extinction of many animal species – that geologists are considering declaring the end of the Holocene and the beginning of the Anthropocene or the ‘Epoch of the Humans’.

In a few decades, a blink of an eye in Earth's 4.5-billion-year history, plastic has not only changed the fabric of life but the very rocks.

UN warns of growing threat of plastic pollution to human health

Plastic starts to smell like food to fish after it has been in the sea, according to research that sheds new light on how the artificial, toxic substance is getting into the food chain.
Concern is growing that plastic is accumulating in the tissues of marine life as it gradually breaks down in the sea until it is small enough to pass through the gut wall into the bloodstream and even muscle tissue.

More than 50 species of fish are known to eat plastic and 700 marine species are exposed to it.The scientists tested the responses of wild-caught fish to odour solutions made from plastic that had been left for three weeks in the sea compared to “clean plastic”.
The biofouled, but not the clean, plastic was found to stimulate a behavioural response consistent with foraging in captive anchovy schools. This is the first behavioural evidence that plastic debris may be chemically attractive to marine consumers.These chemical cues may lure consumers, such as anchovy, into regions of high plastic density and activate foraging behaviours, thus making it difficult to ignore or reject plastic items as potential prey.

Given plastic’s attractiveness to marine life eaten by humans, there is concern that it could also start to become a problem for our species. The researchers recommended further research into the negative effects of plastic in the marine food chain, such as increased risk of predation.

“Humans are at the top of these food chains; therefore, results of such future studies may have important consequences for human health,” they said.
In addition to attracting smells associated with food, plastic also accumulates toxic chemicals in the natural environment. Other scientists have concluded this effect is so pronounced that plastic itself should be treated as a toxic substance once it gets into the environment.

Concern over plastic waste has been growing, partly because it can contain hazardous chemicals but also because it attracts and concentrates other chemicals.
The same properties that make plastics so versatile in innumerable applications like durability and resistance to degradation,  make these materials difficult or impossible for nature to assimilate.

Thus, without a well-designed and tailor-made management strategy for end-of-life plastics, humans are conducting a singular uncontrolled experiment on a global scale, in which billions of metric tons of material will accumulate across all major terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems on the planet.

Plastic waste is seen as one of the signs that the Earth has entered a new geological epoch called the Anthropocene after humans as it will eventually show up in the rocks of the future, creating a dividing line between a ‘natural’ world and one dominated by our species.

There are three main ways the plastic we use every day ends up in the oceans.

Throwing plastic in the bin when it could be recycled

Plastic you put in the bin ends up in landfill. When rubbish is being transported to landfill, plastic is often blown away because it’s so lightweight. From there, it can eventually clutter around drains and enter rivers and the sea this way.

Littering

Litter dropped on the street doesn’t stay there. Rainwater and wind carries plastic waste into streams and rivers, and through drains. Drains lead to the ocean!
Careless and improper waste disposal is also a big contributor – illegal dumping of waste adds greatly to the plastic surge in our seas.

Products that go down the drain

Many of the products we use daily are flushed down toilets, including wet wipes, cotton buds and sanitary products. Micro-fibres are even released into waterways when we wash our clothes in the washing machine. They are too small to be filtered out by waste water plants and end up being consumed by small marine species, eventually even ending up in our food chain.
How does plastic get into the ocean? The bottom line is us. Whether we mean to litter or not, there's always a chance the plastic we throw away could make it into the sea, and from there who knows? Maybe as far as the Arctic. 

Big changes start with small steps and we all have the power to make a difference. What will you do to start cutting the plastic in your life?