Notes from marine plastic pollution
8000 million metric tons of plastic have been produced out of this only 9 percent
is recycled, 12 percent is incinerated and 79 percent is accumulated in landfills
or the natural environment
The impacts of plastics on marine ecosystems range from direct health effects in
marine organisms, due to ingestion or entanglement in litter and fishing gear, to
hitchhiking (i.e., attaching to and floating with plastics) of organisms, including
invasive species and pathogens, to impacts on fisheries (including damaged gear,
decreased catches), to loss of ecosystem services
Research on microplastics indicates that ingestion of microplastics by marine
organisms can cause a range of effects, including blockage of intestinal tracts,
inflammation, oxidative stress, hormone disruption, reproductive impact, and
metabolic and behavioral changes
Potential Effects of Plastics on Human Health
For example, plastic products may cause direct harm when plastic bags block
drainage pathways and lead to rising floodwaters or when plastic debris provides
breeding grounds for mosquitos
For example, plastic products may cause direct harm when plastic bags block
drainage pathways and lead to rising floodwaters or when plastic debris provides
breeding grounds for mosquitos
Microplastics may also affect human health due to particle toxicity (Rist et al.
2018), and microplastics are increasingly being found in water sources and human
food, including seafood
Exposure to the chemicals in plastic products does have human health effects
(Thompson et al. 2009). Chemicals in plastics have been associated with disease and
pathologies, including endocrine disruption, cancers, developmental disorders, and
reproductive abnormalities
For example, humans are exposed through the additives and contaminants in plastic
materials that come in contact with food (e.g., packaging, storage containers,
utensils) (Groh et al. 2018), children’s toys (Guney and Zagury 2014), and
electronics
Challenges of Plastics Recycling
The complexity of plastic materials makes recycling difficult. More specifically, a
plastic product consists not only of the polymer itself, but also potentially
thousands of chemical compounds, of which hundreds are known to be toxic (Groh et
al. 2018). These chemical additives can be problematic in recycling programs
because they reduce the quality and safety of materials.
The challenge of maintaining material quality
To maintain material quality, recycling efforts need to be specific for each type
of plastic, including chemical additives (e.g., phthalates, flame retardants). This
is a challenge, given the many types of plastics and the lack of transparency
concerning the chemical composition of materials.
Marine plastics that are collected for recycling will contain unknown chemical
mixtures; products may have leached additives into the surrounding oceans, but also
will have absorbed environmental toxicants
Recycling is particularly problematic when applied to mixed plastics (i.e.,
consisting of several different polymers), as this leads to unpredictable material
qualities. Thus the market for recycled mixed plastics is small.
To address the problems and challenges caused by marine plastics, there have been
some efforts to promote the use of “biodegradable” plastics
However, these materials will generally not degrade in marine environments
Biodegradable plastics are also a problem for recycling systems, because including
more than 5 percent biodegradable plastics can lead to decreased material integrity
and performance
NOTES FROM PLASTIC WASTE A REVIEW
Therefore, plastic waste pushes not only the environment but also humans into a
critical stage. After being exposed to ultraviolet radiation, plastic debris
undergoes a photo-oxidation process, causing it to become brittle
After being exposed to ultraviolet radiation, plastic debris undergoes a photo-
oxidation process, causing it to become brittle
Plasticizers, flame retardants, stabilizers, antioxidants, and other additives are
added during the manufacturing of plastics to gain specific properties.
Consequently, harmful chemicals such as phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), and
polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) can be directly transferred to the human
body from plastics.
The short life-cycle of plastic (i.e., single-use material) increases plastic
accumulation in the environment. Roughly two-thirds of global plastics have a short
life cycle which is less than a month
The degradation rates of plastic range from 100 to 1000 years.
Plastics exhibit limited natural degradation in the environment due to their high
stability and durability. Plastic degradation depends on environmental factors like
sunlight, heat, chemical/biological activities, and physical characteristics like
polymer size, density, and molecular weight
Weathering and degradation of plastics fall into four categories:
physical/mechanical degradation, photodegradation/photo-oxidative degradation,
chemical and thermal degradation, and biological degradation. Physical/mechanical
processes (wave action and the panning process in coastal environment) involve bulk
structure alterations, such as cracking and embrittlement. This process promotes
chemical changes that occur at the molecular level, including polymer oxidation and
the formation of short-chain molecules. Photodegradation/photo-oxidative
degradation (i.e., decomposition of plastics under exposure to ultraviolet (UV)
radiation) initiates the breakdown of polymer chains/reducing molecular weight and
producing free radicals (
Gunawardhana et al., 2023
).
These plastics remain in the environment for a long time/over centuries due to
their stability, durability, and their recalcitrant nature to biodegradation,
followed by high molecular weight, complex 3D structure, and hydrophobic nature (
Wang et al., 2020
,
Huang et al., 2022
).
Airborne microplastics can cause eye and throat irritation, cell damage,
generalized aches, asthma-like syndrome, chronic bronchitis, pneumothorax and lung
cancers
Animals may encounter plastics (mainly microplastics) in various environmental
settings, resulting in ingestion
Accordingly, the accumulation of plastics in digestion systems causes several
health issues for ruminants camel, goat, and sheep, such as internal injuries,
blocking of the intestinal tract or gastric enzyme secretion, diminished feeding
stimulus, failure to absorb volatile fatty acids, reduction of animal fattening,
and lowering of steroid hormone levels (
Omidi et al., 2012
,
Hurley et al., 2020
).
In marine environments, plastic debris reduces the lighting and oxygen levels of
underlying water, and this reduces the biodiversity of marine habitats
Chemicals associated with plastic such as, bisphenol A, phthalates, and heavy
metals, can accumulate on organisms through food webs, and it causes negative
impacts like oxidative stress, cancer, and endocrine disruption
The leaching rates of plastic-related chemicals are high in marine environments due
to ultraviolet radiation (UV) breakdown, weathering, and mechanical forces
Microplastics resemble phytoplankton and sometimes plastics mix with the desired
foods of fish and cetaceans
In particular, nanoplastics derived from polystyrene (PS) decrease the filter-
feeding rate of blue mussels and impact the cellular and organizational levels
