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Plastic waste kills a person every 30 seconds in developing countries

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Plastic waste kills a person every 30 seconds in developing countries

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Research led by the Christian charity group Tearfund has revealed that plastic waste is responsible for a death every 30 seconds in the developing world.

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Ocean Pollution: Causes, Effects, Solutions | TDS

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Ocean Pollution: Causes, Effects, Solutions | TDS

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The impacts of ocean pollution are far-reaching. Take a look at the causes of ocean pollution, its effects, and the steps needed to combat it.

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This explains plastic and what plastic is doing. If you look carefully it shows how it affects the Marine animals as well. 

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More than 400 million tons of plastic is made every year

About 14 million tons of plastic ends up in the ocean every year and plastic is makes up 80% of all the marine

Marine animals eat or get tangled up in plastic which pretty much means that it’s not able to survive any longer, or may have injuries.

Plastic pollution endanger food safety and the quality, the health of humans, and makes climate change worse

Impacts on food and humans health
The microplastics that are in many sort of foods and water. For example there is micro plastics in tap water and that’s why we have filters for the water. A lot of animals in the ocean die of starvation because their stomachs are filled with plastic. The plastic contains chemicals for disorders in the humans body and animals. Plastic has been found in humans body for example it has been in a women’s pregnant belly.

Impacts on climate change

The plastic releases carbon dioxide, and methane that’s from landfills into the sky.

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Plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose

Trash is dangerous to both humans and animals

Some animals make mistakes and think that plastic is food and they eat the plastic

Some organisms feed on tiny bits called micro plastic, and it absorbs the chemicals from the plastic and it goes into their tissues

Micro plastics are less than {0.2 inches}

When the microplastics are eaten by bigger animals the chemicals become part of their tissues

In that way that goes into their food chain, it is pretty much becoming part of the food that the humans eat

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Things you need to know:

There are around 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste that’s in our ocean

what we are doing as humans has now created a thing called a dead zone in the ocean

Oil spills in our ocean isnt the biggest  problem

The oil comes from the roads, rivers, and drainpipes

There is more plastic than fish

There is 12 million metric tons of plastic that equals to 3 million elephants of plastic ( Kg)

BY 2050 all the ocean plastic will outweigh all of the oceans fish

There are giant garbage patches

there are 5 of them around the world the largest one is the “ Great Pacific Garbage Patch“ ( includes about 1.8 trillion pieces of trash and covers the area twice the size of texas )

Most the trash comes from Indonesia or India than anywhere else

they make more plastic to the worlds environment than the 7 countries combined ( including United States)

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How can we help save our planet?

1. Reduce plastic production & waste. If we reduce plastic it’s probably one of the best ways to stop sea pollution. You can avoid using micro beads and shopping bags.

2. In the U.K. it is getting worse with 375,533 sewage. Water is not treated well because know one pays attention to it. Changing how we use our water and treat our water is up to us because if we don’t do anything about it then in a few years we wont be able to stop it.

3. Use eco friendly products - use reusable bags, water bottles, and containers. Choose natural cleaning products. Buy good seafood so you dont hurt the animals. Use non toxic health and beauty products. A lot of self products are very unhealthy and contain things that are harmful chemicals.

4. Reduce chemical pollution

5. Beach and river clean ups- you can help pick up trash with other people and volunteer to do other work. Small steps make big differences remember that!

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Surfers in the morning instead of surfing they collect up trash off the beach but once plastic goes into microplastics then it doesn't really help cause there are so many micro plastics. For example, empty cans, plastic bottles, and fishing nets.

The beach is on the Shibagaki Coast in Hakui. This beach is well known for its beautiful view and its waves to surf on. But the plastic ruins the nice view because it hurts the animals and the environment of the beach and the ocean. In 2019, their collection of garbage was about 4 tons. Kids from the schools around the city also come and help with the cleaning up. They also make speeches about this problem at local junior high schools. Also they post it on social media so that younger and just other people are aware of the problem. They said they want to help and they want people to care for the ocean, and that's why cleaning the sea is a part of their daily lives. . 3 people from all different generations have helped to protect the Chirihama beach. At the Shibagaki beach surfers help and clean up, use their bare hands to pick up pieces of glass and trash, and other things that have been washed out from the ocean.

These people are trying to say that it is important to care for the ocean and environment in general. If people care and love for the ocean then there would have been a big difference with the trash. If we don't do anything

about it then our marine ecosystems will be threatened and endangered.

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Star: You have done an incredible job finding very specific evidence from your research! That will help you convince your audience that this is an important and pressing issue.

Wish: Please be very careful about paraphrasing your research and using your own words! You do not want to risk being accused of/caught with plagiarism.

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plastic waste island floating in the Pacific Ocean - 1.6 million km ² .

Every year, 500 billion plastic bottles are made worldwide.

In 2020 we will generate more than 500 million tonnes of plastic, 9 times more than in 1980.

Plastic in the ocean is already more than 150 million tons of waste.**

By 2050, the sea could contain more plastics than fish.

Each year around eight millon tons of plastic ends up in seas and oceans.

Tips for reducing your plastics consumption

Avoid single-use plastics such as drinking straws

If you go shopping, remember to take a cloth bag

Buy more bulk food and fewer packaged products

When hanging out washing use wooden pegs instead of plastic ones

Avoid using cosmetics that use micro-plastics, buy a biodegradable brush and wear natural fabrics

Choose to reuse and give some of the packaging a new purpose

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10 ways to help our ocean:

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/ocean/help-our-ocean.html

In your house!

Conserve water

Use less water so that water that is not used called ( waste water ) doesn’t flow into the ocean.

Reduce pollutants

Choose less chemicals to use. Use clean products and be able to clean your products.

E.g. pesticides a type of bug these things are chemicals small but a lot!

Reduce waste

Throw away less!

Around the city!

Shop wisely

Choose good foods for example don’t keep getting fish we are KILLING THEM!

Buy less plastic and bring reusable bags when you shop

Reduce Vehicle Pollution

Don’t use the much fuel ( gas )

Use things that take human power like bicycles and walk etc…

Use less energy

Don’t waste energy, when you don’t need the light on turn it off it’s one switch and done that’s it!

On the water!

Fish responsibly

“ catch and release” keep more fish alive

Practice safe boating

Anchor in the areas where there are no fish or coral reef “ no wake” zones

Respect habitat

Your healthy habitat and survival. Treat everything in care.

Anytime, anywhere

You can volunteer for cleanups at the beach on the roads like you see those public helpers help clean up.

You can also get involved in protecting your watershed too

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https://www.fauna-flora.org/explained/how-does-plastic-pollution-affect-marine-life/

Bulk buy

you can buy a large amount of one thing and make it a discount

Avoid micro beads

Micro beads are something really small, and are used for different things, they use these things for plastic and used other things

Carry reusable shopping bags

If you use the same reusable plastic bags for shopping and things then you wont keep wasting plastic bags

Avoid straws

For example if you use straws for a lot of things maybe you can buy glass ones or metal straws since if you use a lot of straws it could equal to a lot of plastics

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https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/marine-pollution/

The ocean is getting contaminated by chemicals and trash.

E.g. If you wear sunscreen that's not good to the ocean then it can harm the animals in it.

E.g. If you litter on the beach the waves can take it and it could go a long way into the ocean, and that's also how animals are getting affected.

The problem:

Animals are getting harmed and it can make animals extinct

It can harm humans too. It can get into the tissue of our skin and can give us diseases

Storm, winds, and not being able to manage our plastic waste can come to the sources of the land

Plastics that affect us the most are…

Shopping bags

Drink bottles ( bottle caps )

Cigarette butts

Food rappers

Fishing gear

Plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose

Trash is dangerous to both humans and animals

Some animals make mistakes and think that plastic is food and they eat the plastic

Some organisms feed on tiny bits called micro plastic, and it absorbs the chemicals from the plastic and it goes into their tissues

Micro plastics are less than {0.2 inches}

When the microplastics are eaten by bigger animals the chemicals become part of their tissues

In that way that goes into their food chain, it pretty much becoming part of the food that the humans eat

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Why ocean pollution is harmful to animals? 

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Why ocean pollution is harmful to animals? 

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https://www.conservation.org/stories/ocean-pollution-facts

It can choke/suffocate/drown/ and make all animals starve

The waves and the current of the ocean can push the plastic more into the ocean and the force of the waves can make the plastic  smaller and it can be harder to collect it from the ocean, there’s no way of getting the plastic out unless the waves push it to the shore

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How big is the problem of chemical pollution?

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How big is the problem of chemical pollution?

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There are an estimated 100,000 chemicals on the EU market

the EU have information and understanding of on just 500 of those 100,000 chemicals

These days, the chemical composition of materials and products as well as the emissions into the environment remain largely unknown

Recent research suggests the level of chemical pollution has crossed a “planetary boundary” and we need urgent action to ensure a stable ecosystem.

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Chemical pollution refers to the contamination of our environment with chemicals that are not found there naturally.

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How does chemical pollution affect our environment?

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How does chemical pollution affect our environment?

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Mining, agriculture and waste disposal causes soil pollution

Metals like cadmium, mercury and lead affect the quality of the soil and lessen the number of microorganisms that create fertility

The ocean has a high level of plastic and other chemical pollution which has led to ‘dead zones’ – where the oxygen in the water cannot support animals and life.

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Chemical pollution refers to the contamination of our environment with chemicals that are not found there naturally.

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How does chemical pollution affect our health?

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How does chemical pollution affect our health?

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chemicals can get into our bodies if we…

breathe them in,

eat them,

drink them or

absorb them through our skin.

“Forever chemicals” get into our bodies and environment and do not break down
“hormone disrupting chemicals’,  block, mimic or disrupt our natural hormones with dire consequences.

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Chemical pollution refers to the contamination of our environment with chemicals that are not found there naturally.

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Chemicals are in anything we eat, the air we breathe and the things we use

Most chemicals are made by humans

During manufacture, storage, and transport, chemicals can leak into the surrounding environment, which can lead to ocean pollution.

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Chemical pollution refers to the contamination of our environment with chemicals that are not found there naturally.

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Microplastic are extremely small plastic particles. They are defined as particles less than 5 millimeters  in diameter, causing them to be hard to clean up with machines because of their size.

Plastics turn into microplastics when they have a breakdown caused mainly by the sun’s radiation and waves.

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Image

Photograph by David Liitschwager

Microplastics, as the name implies, are tiny plastic particles. Officially, they are defined as plastics less than five millimeters (0.2 inches) in diameter-smaller in diameter than the standard pearl used in jewelry. There are two categories of microplastics: primary and secondary.

Primary microplastics are tiny particles designed for commercial use, such as cosmetics, as well as microfibers shed from clothing and other textiles, such as fishing nets. Secondarymicroplastics are particles that result from the breakdown of larger plastic items, such as water bottles. This breakdown is caused by exposure to environmental factors, mainly the sun's radiation and ocean waves.

The problem with microplastics is that-like plastic items of any size-they do not readily break down into harmless molecules. Plastics can take hundreds or thousands of years to decompose-and in the meantime, wreak havoc on the environment. On beaches, microplastics are visible as tiny multicolored plastic bits in sand. In the oceans, microplastic pollution is often consumed by marine animals.

Some of this environmental pollution is from littering, but much is the result of storms, water runoff, and winds that carry plastic-both intact objects and microplastics-into our oceans. Single-use plastics-plastic items meant to be used just once and then discarded, such as a straw-are the primary source of secondary plastics in the environment.

Microplastics have been detected in marine organisms from plankton to whales, in commercial seafood, and even in drinking water. Alarmingly, standard water treatment facilities cannot remove all traces of microplastics. To further complicate matters, microplastics in the ocean can bind with other harmful chemicals before being ingested by marine organisms.

Scientists are still unsure whether consumed microplastics are harmful to human or animal health-and if so, what specific dangers they may pose. Even so, many countries are taking action to reduce microplastics in the environment. A 2017 United Nations resolution discussed microplastics and the need for regulations to reduce this hazard to our oceans, their wildlife, and human health.

National Geographic Society

October 31, 2023

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Microplastics are tiny plastic particles that result from both commercial product development and the breakdown of larger plastics. As a pollutant, microplastics can be harmful to the environment and animal health.