Source: United Nations Environment Programme "Plastic Waste Causes Financial Damage of US$13 Billion to Marine. At current rates plastic is expected to outweigh all the fish in the sea by 2050. So, the toxic chemicals that leach out of plastics can accumulate on other plastics. Operation Siso, Sea Shepherd’s campaign to confiscate illegal fishing gear found off Italy’s Mediterranean coast, was named for the young sperm whale whose migration past the Aeolian Islands ended when he became entangled in a driftnet and died. It can increase economic and job growth, make us healthier and reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses. They can come from a variety of land and ocean-based sources; enter the water in many ways; and impact the ocean and Great Lakes. You’ve probably seen videos of these impacts first hand, like a sea turtle with a plastic straw embedded in its nose or a whale entangled in a fishing net, approaching divers that release it from harm. The UK’s Guardian newspaper recently noted the hypocrisy in media condemnation of single-use plastic while “the most important factor… we talk about least.” Is this silence due to mainstream media not wanting to upset the economic interests of the commercial fishing industry, or because by addressing the issue it means consumers will connect the dots…back to themselves? The paper did not seek to quantify how plastics kill marine life, but Mallos said common causes of death include suffocation, blocked stomachs, drowning after entanglement, and infected wounds. Approximately 80% of litter in the seas comes from land. âUntil now, we havenât necessarily shown their impact on marine life,â said one of the studyâs coauthors, Nicholas Mallos, director of the Ocean Conservancyâs Trash-Free Seas Program. It’s also one of the deadliest so you know, wear a helmet or something.
The great Pacific garbage patch, for instance, the most recognisable symbol of the damage caused to the environment by plastic, consists largely of tiny, even microscopic pieces of plastic. On December 28, 2015, President Obama signed the Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, banning plastic microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products. We can’t stand by and watch the impacts of this tidal wave of plastic heading our way—neither failure nor inaction is an option. Periodic messages. Sign the pledge now and when offered a straw, simply say ‘no thanks.’. We’re working to stop plastic bottles from reaching the waters by finding alternatives and reducing plastic bags by banning them at the supermarket checkout. » There are long-term risks of contamination of soils and groundwater by some additives and breakdown by-products in plastics, which can become persistent organic pollutants.
Text HELP to 69866 for more information. A separate report analysed items collected from beaches around the world on just one day. A report published last year suggested that up to 95% of the plastic in the world's oceans travelled via one of 10 rivers - The Yangtze, the Indus, the Yellow River, the Hai River, the Nile, the Ganges, the Pearl River, the Amur River, the Niger, and the Mekong.