How Poor Recycling Habits Leads to A Marine Life Massacre
We’ve all seen it. The picture of the poor seal entangled in a maze of plastic. “What a pity, poor seal. But oh well. I’m gonna continue not recycling because I’m too lazy”. This is in fact the mindset of many Americans. Only 25% of all plastics produced in America are recycled. What happens to the other 75%? Well they land up in places like the ocean where hundreds of animals are being threatened each day by the dangers of plastic.
Over 13 million metric tons of plastic end up in the Earth’s oceans each year. Marine animals are almost destined to either consume, become entangled, or suffocate from some sort of plastic debris.
Scientists claim that over half of the world’s population of sea turtles has consumed some sort of plastic. This is extremely bad for their digestive health, but plastics have also been proven to affect sea turtle reproduction rates. With so much plastic waste on beaches, the plastics are able to alter the temperature of the sand where sea turtles lay their eggs. With a changed sand temperature, sea turtles have a difficult time finding spots to lay their eggs.
Seabirds are also affected by the abundance of plastics in oceans. Millions of seabirds die each year due to plastic consumption. Seabirds, especially younger seabirds have difficulty discerning the difference between prey and the plastics. Therefore, they accidentally consume these plastics, which take up space in their stomach. This leads to death from starvation indigestion. There have been many instances in which dead seabirds have been found with plastic particles stuck inside their stomach. As of now, scientists claim that about 60 percent of all seabirds have consumed plastic at some point in their lives, but the percentage is estimated to climb up to 99% by 2050.
Not only seabirds and sea turtles, intelligent animals like dolphins have been photographed with plastic bags wrapped around their bodies. In addition, smaller animals like small fish and seahorses have been affected by the plastic waste as well. However, it doesn’t stop there.
Scientists have found that the plastics that end up in the ocean end up in humans as well. For example, when humans eat fish that previously digested plastic chemicals before being caught. People can also get those harmful chemicals into their body as well. As the chemicals from our plastic waste start creeping up our human food chain, it’s crucial that action be taken.
With all kinds of marine animals and even humans being affected by plastic waste, action must be taken. There have been many non profit organizations that have been hosting beach clean ups. However, this is not enough. People need to start recycling correctly and understanding the importance behind recycling. Sorting out cardboard, plastic, etc. in correct containers is important, and although throwing everything into the trash bin might seem tempting, think about the seafood you eat and all the animals that could die because of plastic waste. Although recycling won’t magically get rid of all of the plastic in the ocean, it’s a good place to start. Try getting into the habit of sorting out your recycling bins. With more people hopping onto the recycling bandwagon, change can be made. If 100% of all plastic products are recycled, American can save $1 Billion dollars in oil and 44 million cubic yards of landfill space each year. Make one step towards change- Recycle.
Sources:
- https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2018/09/24/plastic-pollution-affects-sea-life-throughout-the-ocean
- http://utahrecycles.org/get-the-facts/the-facts-plastic/
Sarah Cho (sarahyeonjae@gmail.com) is a sophomore in Poolesville High School’s Global Ecology Magnet. She loves working on climate education projects as well as participating in environmental awareness projects. In her free time, Sarah enjoys camping, traveling, dancing, and hiking.
