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Plastic bags start out as fossil fuels and end up as deadly waste in landfills and the ocean. Birds often mistake shredded plastic bags for food, filling their stomachs with toxic debris. For hungry sea turtles, it's nearly impossible to distinguish between jellyfish and floating plastic shopping bags. Fish eat thousands of tons of plastic a year, transferring it up the food chain to bigger fish and marine mammals. Microplastics are also consumed by people through food and in the air. It's estimated that globally, people consume the equivalent of a credit card of plastic every week, and it's expected that there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050.

The fossil fuel industry plans to increase plastic production by 40% over the next decade. These oil giants are rapidly building petrochemical plants across the United States to turn fracked gas into plastic. This means more plastic in our oceans, more greenhouse gas emissions and more toxic air pollution, which exacerbates the climate crisis that often disproportionately affects communities of color.

10 Facts About Single-Use Plastic Bags

1. Americans use 5 trillion plastic bags a year.

2. Americans use an average of 365 plastic bags per person per year. People in Denmark use an average of four plastic bags per year.

3. It only takes about 14 plastic bags for the equivalent of the gas required to drive one mile.

4. In 2015 about 730,000 tons of plastic bags, sacks and wraps were generated (including PS, PP, HDPE, PVC & LDPE) in the United States, but more than 87% of those items are never recycled, winding up in landfills and the ocean.

5. About 34% of dead leatherback sea turtles have ingested plastics.

6. The plastic typically used in bottles, bags and food containers contains chemical additives such as endocrine disruptors, which are associated with negative health effects including cancers, birth defects and immune system suppression in humans and wildlife.

7. It takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to degrade in a landfill. Unfortunately, the bags don't break down completely but instead photo-degrade, becoming microplastics that absorb toxins and continue to pollute the environment.

8. Chemical leachates from plastic bags impair the growth of the world's most important microorganisms, Prochlorococcus, a marine bacterium that provides one tenth of the world's oxygen.

9. There were 1.9 million grocery bags and other plastic bags collected in the 2018 International Coastal Cleanup.

10. In 2014 California became the first state to ban plastic bags. As of March 2018, 311 local bag ordinances have been adopted in 24 states, including Hawaii. As of July 2018, 127 countries have adopted some form of legislation to regulate plastic bags.

Ways You Can Help

1. Support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which would phase out throwaway plastics, hold the industry responsible for its waste and pause construction on new plastic-making plants. Ask your members of Congress to cosponsor this crucial bill aimed at tackling the plastic pollution crisis head on.

2. Practice waste prevention first and choose to reuse whenever possible. Make sure to always bring a reusable bag when shopping. By regularly washing your bags and drying them thoroughly, you can reuse them over and over.

3. One company, Formosa Plastics, is trying to build a mega-polluting petrochemical plant in Louisiana that would harm a Black community, degrade wetlands, and deepen the plastic pollution crisis. Sign the petition asking President Biden to revoke Formosa Plastics' federal permit, which is currently suspended and under reevaluation by the Army Corps of Engineers.

4. President Biden can address the plastic pollution crisis rapidly through executive action. Demand that he take bold action on plastics for our health, climate and wildlife.

Learn more about how plastic pollution threatens wildlife.

Get the latest on our work for biodiversity and learn how to help in our free weekly e-newsletter.

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The U.S. is the third-most populated country in the world, yet we're responsible for a disproportionate amount of greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, consumption and waste. If everyone in the world lived the way Americans do today, it would take five Earths to sustain the planet.

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C- December 18, 2018
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This article was originally published by WWF-Australia.

A gentle ocean giant who feeds in the deep gets stranded on a Spanish beach and dies.

This is what plastic can do to the world's largest predator - the sperm whale.

Cause of death? An inflammation of its abdominal tissues caused by the presence of nearly 30 kilograms of indigestible plastic. Among the items recovered in its gut were shopping bags, fishing nets and a jerry can.

Sadly, marine mammals around the world are suffering similar fates.

But why?

Globally, 100,000 marine mammals die every year as a result of plastic pollution. This includes whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals and sea lions.

There are two principle ways that encountering marine debris can be fatal for these creatures: ingestion (eating) or entanglement in plastic-based fishing gear.

It's estimated that 56% of the planet's whale, dolphin and porpoise species have consumed plastic, but to understand why you need to see the world as they do.

A plastic bag ballooned with water can look a lot like squid, or other prey, to the seals and marine mammals that hunt them.

Even species that don't identify prey by sight aren't safe. Toothed whales, and many species of dolphin, use a sophisticated sonar-type technique called echolocation to find their prey. Some scientists believe that unnatural objects such as plastic waste confuse this sonar, and are incorrectly interpreted as food.

It's possible that such a mistake led to the death of a pregnant pygmy sperm whale discovered stranded on a beach near Melbourne. This whale was euthanised after unsuccessful rescue attempts, and an autopsy revealed a stomach clogged with ingested plastic.

What happens when marine mammals get entangled in plastic?

The other way that plastic pollution effects ocean mammals is through entanglement, and one of the worst offenders here is abandoned fishing gear.

An estimated 640,000 tonnes of the eight million tonnes of plastic that enters the oceans every year is so-called ghost fishing equipment, gear that's either deliberately jettisoned or washed from ships or shorelines.

Left to float in the ocean it continues its deadly purpose, ensnaring unwary marine creatures who venture too close.

Just like us, marine mammals can't breathe underwater, and the most common way that entanglement kills is through drowning.

The results from recovered ghost nets are devastating, and show that it isn't only mammals that are at risk. Here are the combined contents of two ghost nets taken from the waters around the Tiwi Islands and Darwin respectively:

Three skeletons believed to be dolphins.

Three dolphinfish (mahi-mahi).

Two turtles.

Nine blacktip reef sharks.

Numerous reef fish.

Even if the animals are able to move while entangled, their prospects aren't good.

Rare species such as the humpback dolphin, which is only found in waters around Australia and New Guinea, have been observed with marine debris wrapped tightly around their bodies. If the plastic isn't dislodged, it can cut deep into their skin, leaving the animals open to the risk of deadly infections.

Marine mammals, of course, don't understand the dangers plastics pose to them. This problem was created by humans, and only humans can fix it.

Every year Australia dumps 130,000 tonnes of plastic into its oceans, and this goes on to indiscriminately kill marine mammals, birds and other creatures.
Turning this tide starts at an individual level:

Recycle everything you can.

Use your own cutlery, food containers and KeepCups when getting takeaway, rather than using disposable alternatives.

Participate in beach or community clean-ups.

Tell the waiter to 'hold the straw' when purchasing drinks.

Most importantly, pledge to #ReduceYourUse today.

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Plastic in our oceans is killing marine mammals

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This article was originally published by WWF-Australia . A gentle ocean giant who feeds in the deep gets stranded on a Spanish beach and dies. This is what plastic can do to the world's largest predator - the sperm whale. Cause of death?

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C- February 23, 2020
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Bans on single-use plastic bags -- one of the most pervasive sources of pollution -- are taking effect in cities and states across the U.S. as efforts to combat global plastic production pick up.

But while the moves are being lauded by environmentalists and the local governments that support them, some are questioning whether the move will be effective, primarily because of the unintended environmental consequences associated with replacement materials such as paper, thick plastic and reusable bags.

Plastic bags were widely introduced to American consumers in 1979 and were marketed as preferable to paper because they are durable, waterproof and have many functions, according to the United Nations Environment Programme.

Until the early '80s, paper bags were standard for carrying groceries. With the adoption of plastic bags by grocery chains Safeway and Kroger in 1982, plastic bags soon dominated supermarkets and convenience stores across the U.S. by the end of the decade, the UNEP states.

In the U.S., 380 billion plastic bags and wraps are used every year, requiring 12 million barrels of oil to create, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Low-density polyethylene, the material from which plastic bags are made, is produced from crude oil or natural gas, making the petroleum-based plastic bags non-biodegradable.

While many plastic bags are recyclable and large retailers in some areas are required to accept them for reprocessing, many wind up tangled in trees and littering streets.

Plastic pollution costs some communities $1 million in annual fees to remove waste mostly made up of grocery bags, according to the EPA.
A worldwide effort
Across the globe, countries have increased their efforts to limit plastic bags and other plastic materials from being produced, distributed and ultimately released into the environment.

In the U.S., statewide bans against plastic bags are being put into place. Eight states have passed legislation banning single-use plastic bags, with three -- California, Hawaii, and Oregon -- currently in effect. Bans in New York, Maine and Vermont are scheduled as early as next month, while in several cities, restrictions have been implemented without the adoption of state-led legislation.

California became the first to introduce regulations banning single-use plastic bags in August 2014. Proposition 67, also known as SB270, officially passed in November 2016, prohibits plastic bags at groceries, chain pharmacies, and other stores.

Since the policy took effect, Californians Against Waste (CAW), a nonprofit organization that sponsored the bill, has reported a substantial reduction in plastic bag litter in the state's rivers, beaches and landscapes.

During a 2010 annual beach cleanup, crews from CAW reported that 65,000 grocery bags were scattered along water bodies, a number that CAW says decreased by 72% in 2017. Mark Murray, executive director of the nonprofit, attributed the decrease to the ban.

Retailers in California have been in full compliance with the law, he said, and compared to the 13.8 billion grocery bags that were once distributed in the state each year prior to the policy, none are now distributed. Instead, paper and reusable grocery bags are supplied to customers for a fee.

The organization initially feared that restrictions would prompt a significant uptick in the use of paper bags, but data suggests the 10-cent charge has curbed any growth in paper bag generation.

California's reported success with SB270 has sparked policies in states like New York, which is soon to follow suit on March 1. Similar to upcoming bans in Maine and Vermont, New York stores will be replacing plastic bags with paper bags that customers can purchase for a cost of no less than 5 cents.

Commissioner Basil Seggos of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) hopes that the ban will prevent 23 million single-use plastic bags used annually in the state from ending up in the environment and landfills. He expects the quality of life for New Yorkers to increase when harmful litter becomes eliminated.

Paper has been widely supported by legislators as a less environmentally damaging alternative to plastic bags. Terry Webber, executive director of the American Forest & Paper Association, a paper industry trade association, said paper is a renewable, recyclable and compostable resource that is made with wood fiber from sustainably managed forests.

As opposed to petroleum-based plastic bags, Webber claims two-thirds of the energy used to make paper comes from renewable biomass (residuals such as tree limbs and bark that are used as a renewable energy source to power paper mills). 90% of water used during manufacturing also returns to waterways, he claimed.
What the skeptics say
However, the shift from plastic to reusable and paper bags has been met with skepticism by some consumers, manufacturers and industry experts, who fear banning plastic will result in additional environmental problems and hurt consumers.

A 2017 study conducted by Recyc-Québec, a government recycling agency in Canada, looked at the life cycles of different disposable bags used within the province.

Results indicate that though conventional plastic bags tend to have higher environmental impacts when released into the environment, when compared to alternatives (such as compostable bioplastic, paper, thick plastic, and oxo-degradable plastic bags), they appear to have the least overall environmental impact (except as litter).

"Because of its thinness and lightness, being designed for a single use, its life cycle requires little material and energy," the report says. "In addition, it avoids the production of garbage bags since it is commonly used for this function as well."

The study, which looks at human health, quality of ecosystems, use of fossil fuels and abandonment in the environment, indicates that paper was the lowest-performing type of single-use bag with potential environmental impacts ranging 4 to 28 times that of a standard plastic grocery bag.

Also, reusables made from cotton, woven and non-woven polypropylene bags require tens to thousands of uses before they become more environmentally efficient than single-use plastic bags, the study says.

From Recyc-Quebec to the United Kingdom's Environment Agency other studies highlight the necessity of prolonged use when using reusable bags in order for their environmental benefits to exceed that of single-use plastic bags.

Research conducted by Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) suggests compostable materials can often result in greater environmental costs than non-compostable alternatives because of the impacts associated with extracting, processing, and manufacturing raw materials during onset production.

David Allaway, a senior policy analyst at DEQ's Materials Management Program, said that in the case of 90% of manufactured items, most impact occurs when producing the product rather than when it goes to the landfill or gets recycled.

"The public believes materials come to us free of impact, and all we have to think about is compositing versus landfilling or recycling. In reality, it's not quite true. By the time we buy this stuff most of the environmental impact has been done."

Allaway points to the importance of assessing materials based on their intended purpose.

"I don't think that a clear case can be made that either recycled paper or virgin plastic grocery bags are universally "better" or "worse" for the environment. Most life cycle assessments generally point to plastic grocery bags having fewer impacts than paper, but that isn't always the case. Depending on which environmental issue you prioritize - litter, climate change, air toxins, marine debris, water consumption, etc. - you might favor one material over the other. There is no consistent or universal winner."

For Sarah Nichols, sustainable Maine project director at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, the decision to ban single-use plastic bags was one she struggled with for the past six years.

Virgin plastic, she explained, is ultimately a byproduct of the fossil fuel industry and is kept a low-cost material, allowing it to be made abundantly. As fossil fuels are major contributors to climate change, Nichols says she has come to believe banning plastic bags altogether is the right thing to do. Similar to California and Oregon's bans, she believes people in Maine will not only adhere to the restriction, but reap its benefits.

"Every independent life cycle assessment that has looked at various bagging options has found that the common plastic grocery bag, when disposed of properly, has the least environmental impact," Matt Seaholm, executive director of the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance said. "Paper has its purposes and should be an option that consumers can choose from, but there is no doubt that it takes more material, energy and water to manufacture than plastic, and its weight and bulkiness necessitate seven trucks to transport the same number of bags that can be hauled in just one truck of plastic."

And Adrian Hong, president of Island Plastic Bags, Inc. in Hawaii, believes grocery bags should be available for a fee rather than ultimately banned because of the impact on manufacturers.

"I don't think replacing plastic with other materials makes the planet better off," he said, "You have to look at the life-cycle of the materials to see what's best."
Advice for consumers
In Oregon, the Department of Environmental Quality received a steady stream of phone calls in the first few weeks after implementing the ban. As residents grew accustomed to the policy, calls slowly tapered off and officials noted an uptick in use of reusable plastic bags in supermarkets.

When it comes to single-use plastic bag bans, environmental officials advise consumers to make choices that limit the number of any disposable bags they use - whether that is paper or plastic. Recycling paper and properly disposing of plastic bags ensure litter and harmful toxins aren't excessively released into the environment. On the manufacturing end, environmental officials argue that the responsibility to construct products more sustainably must fall on producers to create systemic change.

"The good thing is we're entering a phase where people are starting to think about single-use, recycling, and the climate," Matt Flechter of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said. "That in itself is a victory."

The EPA encourages consumers to reduce the number of bags they use, reduce the number of bags they throw away after one use, reuse bags, and recycle bags when they can no longer be used.

"The Agency promotes s ustainable materials management (SMM), a holistic, systemic approach to using and reusing materials more productively throughout the life cycle of products and services in the U.S. economy," the agency said in a statement.

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As plastic bag bans go into effect, some question the unintended consequences

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Some are questioning whether banning plastic bags is effective in the fight to clean up the environment.

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With so much seafood now containing plastic, the question is no longer are we eating plastic, but how bad is it for our health? In seawater, plastic absorbs chemicals like PCBs and DDTs which have been linked to endocrine disruption and even some cancers, becoming more powerful as they work their way up the food chain. Microplastics have now been found in human blood and disturbingly known to pass from mothers to their unborn children through the placentae.

The beach is where we go to connect with nature. It's simply not the same if it's covered in plastic. And with coastal tourism worth £5.5 billion to the UK economy, many of us count on it being clean for our livelihoods.

Even if you don't eat fish or go to the beach, everybody breathes. And all that essential oxygen? Marine plants produce a massive 70% of it.

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Immerse yourself in plastic trash and its shocking impact on our blue planet to better understand the big issues at play.

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C- June 8, 2018
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A-Organization. By Sybil Bullock.
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What is the current state of the plastic pollution crisis?

About 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the 1950s - the weight of roughly a billion elephants or 47 million blue whales. [1]

Only about 9% of this plastic has been recycled, 12% has been burned and the remaining 79% has ended up in landfills or the environment.[2]

Up to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic enters the oceans every year.[3]

The equivalent of a truckload of plastic enters the oceans every minute.[4]

There are five trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans[5] - enough to circle the Earth over 400 times.[6]

Countries like Canada, the U.S., and the UK export plastic waste to various countries in Asia and Africa[7,8,9], offloading their trash problem to other communities.

Who is most impacted by plastic pollution?

Scientists have documented 700 marine species affected by ocean plastic.[10]

Up to 9 of 10 seabirds[11], 1 in 3 sea turtles[12] and more than half of whale and dolphin species have ingested plastic.[13]

In the Canadian Arctic, 87% of birds have ingested plastics of some sort.[14]

Crustaceans tested at the ocean's deepest point, Mariana Trench, had ingested plastic.[15]

People living along rivers and coastlines in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are the most impacted by plastic pollution.[16]

Low-income communities face more health impacts near plastic production sites, have greater exposure to toxins and waste, and bear the brunt of the impacts of improper plastic disposal and incineration.[17]

Henderson Island in the South Pacific is the most plastic polluted of any island recorded to date.[18]

Who is to blame for the plastic pollution problem?

Annual plastic production has skyrocketed since the early 1950s, reaching 322 million tons in 2015. This does not include synthetic fibers used in clothing, rope and other products which accounted for 61 million tonnes in 2016. It is expected that plastic production will continue to increase, likely doubling by 2025.[19]

Drink companies alone, such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, produce over 500 billion single-use plastic bottles annually.[20]

Well known coffee company Starbucks produces 4 billion coffee cups each year.[21]

Tens of billions of bags of chips are sold each year by companies like Pepsi Co.[22]

What are real solutions to plastic pollution?

Government bans and restrictions for unnecessary and damaging plastic products or activities. Legislative reuse targets.

Mandated Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations and strategies to make producers and companies responsible for the damage plastic causes to our environment, make them accountable for the entire lifecycle and true costs of their products.

Government and corporate investment in reuse models and new ways to deliver products using less or no packaging.

Corporate phase-out of production and use of single-use plastic products and throwaway product models.

A shift in dominant public mindsets away from our throwaway culture focused on convenience being equal to disposal, toward a vision of healthy, sustainable and more connected communities.

What are false solutions to plastic pollution?

Bioplastics are not as green as they seem, approach with caution. Though companies often market them under the same umbrella, a product is not necessarily biodegradable and may require very specific conditions to break down. They also do not solve the litter or throwaway culture problem.[23]

Incineration creates other pollution and does not address the overproduction problem.[24]

Recycling or disposal. Focusing on end of life like recycling or disposal - we can't recycle our way out of this crisis.[25]

Clean up. While clean up efforts help reduce litter problems, they do not address the source of the problem and ignore the unseen plastic pollution - microplastics.[26]

Throwaway alternatives. Replacing one single-use item with another does not necessarily solve the problem or help to address our throwaway culture.

Who is championing real solutions?

Around the world, various cities, countries, and regions are banning or proposing bans on different single-use plastics like Morocco's bag ban[27] and the City of Vancouver, Canada's proposed coffee cup and styrofoam container ban.[28]

More than 30 countries have either regional or country-wide bans on plastic bags, and dozens more have levied fees or taxes on disposable bags.[29]

UK retailer Iceland committed to going plastic free for all of its own brand products.[30]

Zero waste supermarkets are popping up in various cities in countries including the UK, Germany, Canada, the United States, Mexico, South Africa and more.

Endnotes

[1] http://www.fao.org/3/a-‐i7677e.pdf

[2] http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782.full

[3] http://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768

[4] http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_The_New_Plastics_Economy.pdf

[5] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/10/full-scale-plastic-worlds-oceans-revealed-first-time-pollution

[6] http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0111913

[7] Statistics Canada, Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database. Accessed September 2017.

[8] https://www.recyclinginternational.com/recycling-news/8574/plastic-and-rubber/united-states/us-plastic-scrap-exports-jump-higher-2014

[9] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/02/rubbish-already-building-up-at-uk-recycling-plants-due-to-china-import-ban

[10] Gall and Thompson, 2015; Kühn et al., 2015

[11] http://www.pnas.org/content/112/38/11899.full.pdf

[12] http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/03/17/turtles-marine-plastic_n_9455496.html

[13] S. Baulch, C. Perry / Marine Pollution Bulletin 80 (2014) 210-221

[14] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/seabirds-in-high-arctic-ingesting-more-plastic-researcher-says-1.2661580

[15] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-016-0051

[16] https://www.iswa.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Calendar_2011_03_AMERICANA/Science-2015-Jambeck-768-71__2_.pdf

[17] http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7677e.pdf

[18] https://www.livescience.com/59110-remote-henderson-island-most-polluted.html

[19] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/dec/26/180bn-investment-in-plastic-factories-feeds-global-packaging-binge

[20] http://pmmi.files.cms-plus.com/AnnualMeeting/2015/Margulies.pdf

[21] https://globalassets.starbucks.com/assets/9265e80751db48398b88bdf09821cc56.pdf

[22] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato_chip

[23] https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5522e85be4b0b65a7c78ac96/t/5a99d29d41920278291296a4/1520030386318/5Gyres+BAN+List+2018.pdf

[24] http://www.no-burn.org/burning-plastic-incineration-causes-air-pollution-dioxin-emissions-cost-overruns/

[25] http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782

[26] https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/411978/Assessing_the_impact_of_exposure_to_microplastics_in_fish_summary.pdf

[27] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/green-morocco-bans-plastic-bags-160701141919913.html

[28] http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-considering-ban-on-disposable-coffee-cups-plastic-bags-1.3436086

[29] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_lightweight_plastic_bags#Morocco

[30] http://about.iceland.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Iceland-aims-to-be-plastic-free-across-own-label-range-by-2023-16.1.18.pdf

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What is the current state of the plastic pollution crisis? About 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the 1950s - the weight of roughly a billion elephants or 47 million blue whales. [1] Only about 9% of this plastic has been recycled, 12% has been burned and the remaining 79% has ended ...

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This whale had more than 88 pounds of plastic in its stomach when ...

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Plastic pollution in the world's oceans costs society billions of dollars every year in damaged and lost resources, research has found.

Fisheries, aquaculture, recreational activities and global wellbeing are all negatively affected by plastic pollution, with an estimated 1-5% decline in the benefit humans derive from oceans. The resulting cost in such benefits, known as marine ecosystem value, is up to $2.5tn (£1.9tn) a year, according to a study published this week in Marine Pollution Bulletin.

Plastic waste is also believed to cost up to $33,000 per ton in reduced environmental value, the study found. An estimated 8 m tons of plastic pollution enter the world's oceans every year.

Dr Nicola Beaumont, an environmental economist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, who led the study, said the investigation was the first of its kind to explore the social and economic impact of plastics in the sea.

"Our calculations are a first stab at 'putting a price on plastic'. We know we have to do more research to refine, but we are convinced that already they are an underestimate of the real costs to global human society," said Beaumont.

The estimates do not take into account the direct and indirect impacts on the tourism, transport and fisheries industries, or on human health, the authors warned.

Plastic waste can be found all over the world - from the most populated coastlines to the most remote - and its impact on zooplankton, invertebrates, fish, turtles, birds and mammals is all negative, the study found. But authors discovered that plastics - which can remain buoyant for decades or longer, travelling distances of more than 3,000km from origin - create new habitats for bacteria and algae. These "colonies" increase the biogeographical range of bacteria and algae, thereby risking the spread of invasive species and disease, the research found.

Dr Kayleigh Wyles, an environmental psychology lecturer at the University of Surrey, said the research was the first to show the "holistic" impact of plastic pollution.

"As well as the devastating effect plastics have on our ecological and marine systems, they also directly and indirectly impact society," she said.

Huge rise in US plastic waste shipments to poor countries following China ban

"Quantifying the enormous tangible and intangible costs associated with marine plastic waste can only help to make the case for devoting our attention and resources now to protecting the seas for future generations to enjoy."

Beaumont said she too hoped the study would streamline services to address plastic pollution and "help us make informed decisions".

"Recycling a ton of plastic costs us hundreds against the costs of thousands if we let it into the marine environment," she said.

"We now trade carbon to reduce emissions to the atmosphere, so we should be able to do something similar with plastics. We hope this study will highlight the reality of the plastic problem in human terms."
Topics

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Marine plastic pollution costs the world up to $2.5tn a year, researchers find

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Plastic pollution in the world's oceans costs society billions of dollars every year in damaged and lost resources, research has found. Fisheries, aquaculture, recreational activities and global wellbeing are all negatively affected by plastic pollution, with an estimated 1-5% decline in the benefit humans derive from oceans.

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Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History

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Plastic surrounds us. It is not just the obvious places—like water bottles and straws. It is also used to build our cars and is found in our face washes and fabrics. With the invention of plastic in the early 20th century, we became a world that relished the privilege of cheap, easy-to-produce plast…

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Before a piece of plastic reaches open water, before it sinks to the ocean floor, it likely is deposited somewhere along our coastlines. Every year, up to 13 million tonnes of plastic reaches the ocean. That is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute, according to UN Environment.

Plastic is especially lethal to coral reef systems. Healthy coral reefs are the nurseries of the underwater world, nurturing an astonishing array of living organisms. They protect over 150,000 km of shoreline in 100 countries and territories, safeguarding coastal communities from heavy storm surges, winds and waves. A recent study found that, when corals come in contact with plastic, the likelihood of disease shoots up from 4 percent to 90 percent.

"People shouldn't teach their garbage to swim."

Ellen McRaye is a marine biologist in Belize, where visitors come for spectacular snorkelling and scuba diving in the Blue Hole and the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere. For the past 40 years, Ellen has witnessed the disappearance of pollutant-filtering mangrove forests and fish due to unsustainable tourism and other practices, like overfishing or dumping untreated sewage into coral reef nurseries.

Through UNDP's Small Grants Programme, Ellen and a few volunteers were able to update an old boat with a modern motor and rehabilitate a centre to educate visitors on sustainable tourism. They tend to the health of mangrove nurseries in the Caye Caulker Forest and Marine Reserve and do weekly clean-ups of the coastal garbage that chokes and kills mangrove saplings. They also collect data that enable local governments to make decisions to protect the future of the country's economic lifeline, the Belize Barrier Reef.

Volunteers are making a huge impact in Belize and around the world. In Lebanon, hundreds of youth have turned up to lend a hand in a series of coastal clean-ups. With every disused tote, toy or tyre dragged from the beach or dredged out of the sea, these young people are sending a strong message about the need for change.

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Before a piece of plastic reaches open water, before it sinks to the ocean floor, it likely is deposited somewhere along our coastlines. Every year, up to 13 million tonnes of plastic reaches the ocean. That is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute, according to UN Environment.

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