April 3, 2017

The Opinion Pages

WORLD U.S. N.Y./REGION BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY

SCIENCE HEALTH

The Plastic Problem

Daniel Stiffler - April 3, 2017

Retrieved from: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/tiny-

plastic-big-problem

In todays world, water is becoming increasingly valuable and access to

clean water, scarce. Droughts ravage certain areas of the globe, causing

enormous water shortages, like in California and many places in Africa, and

pollution renders some water undrinkable as is the case for Flint Michigan

because of its lead pollution. On an even larger scale, the oceans are quickly

filling up with destructive garbage patches in the gyres of the oceans,

devastating aquatic ecosystems. It is clear that water plays a large role in

1
 April 3, 2017

both humans and animals lives, however, the human race continues to

pollute the Earths water. One of the main culprits of water pollution is one

that is a large part of everyday life for the human race, and one that may not

seem to be as destructive as it is; plastic.

The first question that needs to be addressed in order to fully

understand the problem is, How does plastic pollute water? Plastic can

enter water in many ways, but some of the main methods are pollution on

beaches that get swept into the ocean, ship garbage disposal, plastic

pollution that enters rivers and estuaries, and storm sewers systems that

have plastic carried into them by rainwater (Amos, 2003). Littering is one of

the biggest sources of plastic pollution. Some plastics are very light such as

plastic bags, and as a result, wind is easily able to blow plastics around.

Often times, plastics make their way into water sources as a result of littering

and wind and end up staying there due to water entering a plastic container

or covering part of a plastic bag and giving the plastic extra weight. Aside

from larger plastic pollution, plastic pollution acts on a much more subtle and

smaller way. Microplastics are very small plastics, generally smaller than 5

millimeters, and are quickly polluting water sources around the globe. First,

when large plastics break down, often times they leave behind these

microplastics. However, this is not the only source of microplastics in water.

Many cosmetic companies use microplastics in their products, especially

facewashes and soaps. Because these soaps and facewashes are washed

from the human body and down the drain, they go to wastewater treatment

2
 April 3, 2017

plants. However, these microplastics pass through filters due to their size

and end up entering the sources that wastewater treatment places discharge

their treated water (Science, 2017). The

sources of microplastic pollution in the

environment may not be limited to facial

scrubs and soaps. These soaps are

regulated by the Food and Drug

Retrieved from:
http://baysidejournal.com/wp/the-
Administration, but other manufacturers great-pacific-garbage-patch-myth-or-
grim-reality/
not regulated by the FDA are not required to release the makeup of their

product. Thus, it is difficult to pinpoint and eliminate the pollution of

microplastics.

Not only do plastic products pollute the waterways of the world, but so

do the factories that produce plastics. Discharges from plastic factories

release dangerous chemicals into

water sources. Chemicals known by

the Environmental Protection

Agency, or EPA, to be released into

water are cyanide, styrene, and

Retrieved from:
vinyl chloride. Cyanide can cause
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/microplastics.
html nerve damage and thyroid

problems, styrene can cause liver, kidney, and circulatory system problems,

and vinyl chloride can cause an increased risk of cancer (Balliett, 2013). The

3
 April 3, 2017

pollution of the water is not the extent of the plastic problem, as this

pollution has many environmental impacts, especially on aquatic wildlife.

Its no secret that the human races plastic pollution of water,

especially the ocean, has negatively impacted aquatic life. There are many

ways that this plastic can affect the life of an

animal. Plastic bags often entangle birds diving

for food or turtles swimming in the water. Many

animals such as birds, turtles and whales think

that plastic is a food and eat the plastic items in

Retrieved from:
the ocean. These items either choke or poison http://www.humanesociety.org/
news/magazines/2009/07-
them, and if they survive both of these, they 08/the_deadly_truth_about_tras
h.html

can lead to starvation or a lack of nutrients by making animals think they are

full through eating plastic. Lastly, plastic nets discarded in the ocean by

fishermen can entrap animals such as dolphins, fish, turtles, and birds,

leaving them to die (Amos, 2003). Plastic has other impacts on animals

functions as well. Plastic eaten by turtles is known to block egg passage by

females, which causes internal damage to the females. Animals eat less

when having plastic in their digestive systems. One study shown that a turtle

taken into rehabilitation for being nonresponsive in the wild passed 74

objects that mainly included plastic. The turtles daily food intake increased

from 8 grams per day to 100 grams a day (Sigler, 2014).

Microplastics once again impact animals just as larger plastics do.

Zooplankton are known to ingest microplastics, mistaking them for food. This

4
 April 3, 2017

ingestion of the microplastics sets in

motion the buildup of microplastics in

the food chain. Moreover, microplastics

enter the food chain through larger

organisms such as fish. Removal of the

plastics from the digestive system is

hard for some species of fish, adding to the buildup of the microplastic in the

environment. While the presence of microplastic may seem harmless, this is

not the case. Microplastics often have additives from their manufacturing,

and these additives can be dangerous chemicals to the organisms who

ingest the plastics (Science, 2017). Because of the food chain, a buildup of

potentially toxic chemicals in any organism can be dangerous for humans. If

fish continue to ingest large amounts of microplastics, the microplastics and

their respective chemicals could build up enough where they start to impact

humans. This buildup relationship was seen with the chemical DDT building

up in fish and impacting the eagles that ate the fish, causing eggshells to

thin and kill the embryos. Both larger and microplastics are impacting

aquatic wildlife negatively, and in order to prevent the thinning of

populations and potential repercussions of microplastic buildup, steps must

be taken to reduce current plastic pollution and prevent future pollution.

The obvious question regarding plastic pollution prevention is What

can I do as an individual? While the unfortunate reality is that one person

may not be able to clean the entire ocean of all plastics, or stop the

5
 April 3, 2017

companies that produce the products

Retrieved from:
http://elkhuntersjournal.com/photorfu/ddt-
from continuing to produce them, food-chain

there are steps that can be taken to help prevent pollution. The three Rs of

sustainability are actually very important. The first step that can be taken to

reduce the pollution is to reduce the use of products that pollute the oceans.

The chart shown to the right shows the amount of trash collected along

Mustang Island Gulf Beach in Texas (Amos, 2003). As seen in the picture,

beverage cans were the item that was represented the most, and in this

graph, beverage cans were single drink containers that included plastic

bottles. Thus, the largest group of pollutants gathered were plastic bottles.

Instead of buying plastic beverage bottles, use a reusable bottle. In the case

of water, reusable bottles are often cheap and easy to obtain, and the water

that comes out of the tap is much cheaper than consistently buying bottled

water. Recycling or reusing plastics used can also reduce the pollution of

plastics in the environment. In the case of microplastics, there are many

soaps, facewashes, and toothpastes that do not contain microplastics.

Therefore, switching to a different brand can reduce the amount of

microplastic entering the waterways of the world. Perhaps the biggest impact

an individual can have is spreading the information on plastic pollution and

raising awareness. By teaching others about the problem, it is possible to

exponentially grow ones impact on the problem. Through a cumulative

effort, change is possible and the movement to preclude the plastic problem

can gain momentum.

6
 April 3, 2017

Works Cited

Amos, Anthony F. "Pollution of the Ocean by Plastic and Trash." Water:

Science and Issues, edited by E. Julius Dasch, vol. 3, Macmillan
Reference USA, 2003, pp. 233-236. Gale Virtual Reference Library. 15
Mar. 2017.

Balliett, James Fargo. Water Pollution. Social Issues in America: An

Encyclopedia, edited by James Ciment, Sharpe Reference, 2013, pp.
2274-2295. Gale Virtual Reference Library.15 Mar. 2017.

"Science." Beat the Microbead. United Nations Environment Programme,

2017. Web. 27 Mar. 2017.

Sigler, Michelle. "The Effects of Plastic Pollution on Aquatic Wildlife: Current

Situations and Future Solutions." Water, Air and Soil Pollution, vol. 225,
no. 11, 2014, pp. 1-9, ABI/INFORM Collection; Agricultural &
Environmental Science Database.