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What 2016's A Plastic Ocean Teaches Us
by Lewis Robinson
Journalist Craig Leeson couldn't have prepared himself for what he was about to find when he went on a seemingly straightforward mission to make a documentary on the blue whale in 2011. He thought he had arrived at a beautiful, pristine area of the Indian Ocean. However, the reality could not have been more different. After accomplishing the original goal of capturing stunning footage of the blue whale, the camera panned right to reveal a horrifying scene of oil and garbage floating along the surface of the water.
Immediately, Leeson knew that he needed to make a different documentary. He brought on environmentalist and world-record breaking free diver Tanya Streeter, and together they interviewed dozens of conservationists to get a better understanding of the crisis. They traveled to 20 locations around the world to show the many ways that ocean plastic has damaged ecosystems, as well as human life, in various countries.
While we have been recycling for decades, and in recent years some places have implemented legislation to ban single-use plastic, it has not been enough to reduce the massive influx of plastic into the ocean every year. It's estimated that at least 14 million tons end up in the ocean annually.
Now, more plastic is going to places like a materials recovery facility, where it can easily and efficiently be transformed into raw material that can be sold to manufacturers. However, only 9% of all plastic waste is being recycled, so we have a long way to go before we can start making a significant difference.
There are approximately 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean today, weighing about 269,000 tons. This plastic waste wreaks overwhelming havoc on marine ecosystems and causes a domino effect in the food chain. Many birds have been found who were killed because their stomachs were filled to the brim with plastic. Toxic microplastics are finding their way into our bodies as well when we eat seafood that has been poisoned with these microplastics.
It's estimated that individuals consume 5.5 lbs of plastic on average every year. Since plastic never degrades, it continuously breaks down into smaller and smaller bits, eventually penetrating the cell walls. These bits are called nano-plastics, and the full extent of negative impacts these have on us is still unknown. However, they have been linked to metabolic disturbances, allergic reactions, neurotoxicity and cancer.
Unfortunately, plastic is everywhere. And it makes sense, considering the fact that it has revolutionized countless industries, being a cheap, versatile and readily-available material. There are many reasons why plastic has benefitted humanity, including improving hygeine in the medical industry, making it easier to keep food fresh, and being a cheap, highly-effective insulator.
However, it's not these things that are truly causing this environmental crisis. It's single-use plastics in industries that can easily swap for more sustainable options. Plastic bags, water bottles, straws, food containers, poly mailers, cling wrap, etc. These are the things we use extensively every day that we use once and then toss. For example, did you know that we throw out a million plastic bags every minute?
It's estimated that if we continue like this, the plastic in the ocean will outweigh fish by 2050. It's clear that we cannot keep this up if we ever want to see our ocean the way it used to be: clean, beautiful and a healthy place for fish to thrive.
There are so many ways to reduce the amount of plastic we consume, as well as to increase how much we recycle. Many countries have already implemented comprehensive recycling programs which incentivize people monetarily. As the world leader in producing plastic waste, the US needs to follow suit. If we care about the future of our ocean, we need to prioritize it as the serious humanitarian issue that it is. Voting for laws on this is a matter of grave importance for the future of our planet.
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