Synthetic polymers, more commonly known as plastics, have become essential yet problematic to daily human life. Cumulative global plastic production has grown exponentially since it first became popular, in the 1950s 2 million tonnes were being produced and in 2015 7.82 billion tonnes were created (Geyer et al, 2017). It is now near impossible to live without coming in contact with the material in some way.

In the 1960s “Plastic debris in the oceans was first observed” (Science History Institute, 2019). Since then the amount has only accumulated. The amount of anthropogenic waste in the ocean is unknown to most. It is often only when large amounts of debris wash up on shore or videos surface of marine animals suffocating on human waste that people understand the magnitude and impact of what they use and throw away. The several garbage patches in our oceans should also prompt a demand to change human actions.

Garbage Patches

Garbage patches are formed by circular ocean currents called gyres, which pulls ocean debris, including human waste that ends up in the ocean, into a concentrated location (NOAA, 2013). The most prominent patch is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is situated in the North Pacific ocean between Hawaii and California.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is not really a patch or island of trash, but a distribution of large amounts of trash spread across depths of the ocean within a gyre. Most of the plastic is not easily visible, in their research the Ocean Cleanup found 94% of the counted objects in the patch were microplastics (2020). The large plastic debris found will eventually break down into microplastics.

Should we be Worrying?

At the moment there is no certain answer how plastics and microplastics can impact human health. That does not mean we shouldn’t be worrying or mending our plastic addiction. Oceans riddled with plastic threatens marine species, biodiversity, coastal economies and most likely human health.

Large plastic debris, especially fishing nets, pose risk of entanglement for marine species. When larger plastics break down into microplastics they absorb and “concentrate persistent organic pollutants (POPs)”(Andrady, 2011). POPs are organic chemicals that are hazardous to living things and do not degrade in the environment. Marine animals can consume POP concentrated plastics, mistaking it for food. Other animals then eat those that ate the plastics and POPs bioaccumulate through the food web. Higher trophic level species will be consuming the largest amounts of POPs, including humans. Economies and communities that rely on fishing are at risk along with marine animals.

Consumption

The Pacific Garbage Patch is more than just a symbol of global consumption, it is literally a congregation of the world’s waste proving we are doing something wrong.

Organizations like the Ocean Cleanup have proposed plans to cleanse oceans of plastic, indicating they “could clean up 50% of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in 5 years” (2020). Even if all plastic is cleared from the ocean something else has to be done or they will just be filled back up. It is critical for change to see global plastic pollution and reliance reduced. Maybe eliminated.

At the moment plastic is necessary for many Nations to consume clean food and drinking water. That is not the problem. We have made the material to be used in basically everything from cars to medical equipment to electronics. It is cheap to make and easy to throw away. With plastic we can buy and use what we don’t need, such as single use plastic bags. We also have no idea what happens to our plastic goods when we recycle them or throw them away. That is until they end up washed ashore or a part of the Pacific Garbage Patch.

The Pacific Garbage Patch is a horrible reminder of how small purchases or actions can build up into a massive problem. “It can take hundreds of years to break down – if at all” (WWF, 2018), which means the plastic we contribute to the oceans will survive way longer than anyone currently throwing it away.

We have lived without plastic before, is it possible to do so now?