Plastic Perplexities

Shocking, sad and true, plastics are smothering and poisoning our oceans, wilderness areas and food sources. In this article I look into physical and chemical impacts on the ocean environment, its inhabitants and us. The report also looks at how plastics get there and where they go and discusses laws we must address to change outcomes. Plastics in waterways and oceans scares me. I can't help but wonder how life can continue as it once did. I believe this issue is needs our direct attention and focus to reform behaviours and policies which influence future outcomes.

The Plastic Age

During the industrial era, increased knowledge in chemistry brought about the birth of plastics. Mass production of a range of plastic products in the 1940’s and 50’s made these new items affordable and desirable for the masses. Plastics are made up from a wide range of synthetic or a combination of synthetic and organic molecules that hold their form once cooled. Plastics are mostly organic polymers but can also contain other substances which have now become leading brands, such as Tupperware. Tupperware was promoted as a “lifestyle choice” to improve home economics. Other plastic products were developed and promoted to consumers. Slogans like “Better things for better living, through chemistry” were used by plastic manufacturing company Du Pont to convince doubtful consumers. Saving time in the home by “just throwing away” plastic (seen below) instead of washing after use was another marketing strategy used by corporations.  

Plastic party, Source: 5gyres.org, 2014.

We now have a “throwaway culture” and it is estimated that around fifty percent of plastic is used just once before being discarded. These petrochemical based products have increased in use and quantity to meet growing demand. New plastic products bring big profits for plastic manufacturers and oil companies alike. Consumers also gain by having cheaper more versatile items for their food, transport, homes, workplaces and recreation. Today, I see a vast array of plastic products in supermarkets, department stores, our homes the work place and vehicles. Unfortunately, the way we dispose of these plastic products has lead to a multitude of issues for terrestrial and marine ecosystems. In turn, these issues affect us.

Plastic in our oceans and along coastal regions

Oceans are basically downhill of everything, so gravity and wind take plastics and other pollutants there. Wind can transport it directly to the sea or to waterways such as lakes, rivers, streams and drains that run to the sea. Direct dumping into waterways and the ocean has been and in some places, still is common practice. Once in the oceans, plastic has a range of negative impacts to ecosystems now and into the future and this worry’s me.

The ocean is an accumulation zone for the enormous range of pollutants that modern humans produce. Discarded plastic products are now commonly found in most parts of the ocean and coastlines. About 46,000 pieces of plastic can now be found in one nautical mile of ocean. Swimming with plastic (seen bellow) in some parts of the world has become the norm. Wind and currents can also move plastics from coasts to gyres.

Maldives coast, Source: Cartersnews.com, 2016.

Ocean Gyres

There are five known subtropical ocean gyres around the world. Depicted below, subtropical gyres are created by ocean currents and high pressure weather systems. Weather systems build in size and push down on the ocean creating lower areas to where floating objects accumulate. The gyres are located in the North Pacific, South Pacific, North Atlantic, South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. Plastics accumulate in these gyres and can range in sizes from less than one micron to one square meter or more. When ocean researchers sieve these areas, they find masses of minute plastic particulates that are not visible to the eye when just looking at the water. It is also thought that plastics can sink to great depths where they can be ingested by marine biodiversity in zones that science knows little about.

Subtropical ocean gyres, Source: Oceanbites.org, 2014.

Microplastics

Microplastics being generally smaller than five millimetres can be categorised in to Primary and Secondary types.

Primary microplastics come from products such as: facial scrubs and exfoliates, synthetic textiles, clothing and resin beads. These plastic resin beads (see below) are the raw product for plastic production and transported from one industrial site to another. It is during this process that the beads spill onto the ground and then get washed into waterways, ending up on the coast or in the oceans. Recently this occurred in Wellington harbour and was reported by TV One News. These beads happen to resemble fish eggs and become targets for hungry marine creatures.

Plastic beads, Source: Aucklandscoup.co.nz, 2017.

Secondary microplastics are formed when larger plastic items fragment and break up. In the ocean, ultraviolet rays from the sun combine with wave action to degrade plastics. Secondary microplastics can also be formed on land and can be seen readily in any urban setting. For example, a vehicle running over a plastic item will smash into smaller pieces. I have found microplastics Aoraki/Mt Cook village, which is in a National Park and world Heritage Area. If you look closely, microplastics can be found on a daily basis. These micro plastics can, and do, get washed into waterways which run to the sea.

Ecological Impacts

Ecological impacts refer to adverse effects endured by marine biodiversity. These impacts can be broken down into physical and chemical impacts. Physical pertains to the impacts coming from the shape or form of plastic objects, and chemical refers to the impacts coming from the toxic substances present in the plastic. Below and image of a seal tangled in fishing gear exemplifies a physical impact on the environment.

Seal entangled in discarded fishing gear. Source: Poopy.org 2018.

Physical Impacts

Apart from the unsightly visual impact of plastic litter on our coasts and in the oceans, marine life such as fish, turtles, penguins, seals, dolphins and whales can be entangled by plastics of various shapes and forms. An example of this is commercial and recreational fishing gear which is made from Nylon (polyamides) and can remain in the sea or along coastlines for many years.

Entanglement in this gear can lead to drowning, starvation, injury or increased vulnerability to predators. Marine creatures such as albatross (pictured below) can ingest smaller plastics by mistaking it for food.

According to 5 Gyres research, 44% of all seabird species, 22% of cetaceans, all sea turtle species, and a growing list of fish species have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies. When marine animals consume plastic trash, presumably mistaking it for food, this can lead to internal blockages, dehydration, starvation, and potentially death, (2018). Furthermore, floating plastic products can act as a means of transportation for invasive species to relocate and invade other ecosystems.

Albatross, Source: Wildlifereasurch.org 2018.

Chemical Impacts

On the Island of Tessel in Holland, about seven to eight kilograms of plastic accumulates on a kilometre of coast each day. Dr Jan van Franeker conducted studies of fulmars which are tubenosed seabirds of the procellariidae family that feed extensively at sea.  When dissecting dead fulmars, he found that 90% of the birds contained plastics in their stomachs with an average of 0.6 grams and on one instance found 20 grams. The ingested plastics affect the bird’s body condition and breading success. Dr von Franeker thinks that the chemicals absorbed by the plastics are more harmful to the birds. With plastic in the ocean absorbing toxins such as polychlorinated biphenyl with concentrations up to one million times that of what is found in the sea (Connacher, 2007).

The oceans now have varying concentrations of Persistent Bioaccumulative Toxic substances (PBTs). PBTs can be a range of chemicals that degrade slowly in the environment and accumulate in organic tissues. Additionally, over time the chemical characteristics of plastics absorb these PBTs from the ocean. If the plastic is then ingested by marine wildlife, PBTs can be transferred to the animal and potentially bio-accumulate further through the food chain.

Dr Frederic vom Saal from the University of Columbia in Missouri studied the effects of phthalate derivatives such as Bisphenol A (BPA) on humans. BPA is a carbon based synthetic compound that is found in Polycarbonate (PC). Polycarbonate is used in plastic products to strengthen and make them more resilient. These chemicals are able to leach into foods and water from the plastic containers we use. Dr vom Saal’s studies found a number of health risks associated with these chemicals, such as cancers, birth defects, abnormal sperm development,  brain function, and aggressive behaviour. It is now known the one trillionth of a gram of BPA has the ability to change the how cells function in the human body and will undoubtedly have similar effects on other organisms, (Connacher, 2007).

There are also health effects from other chemicals such as di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), which is a plasticiser and makes plastics flexible. Phthalates are used in a wide variety of plastics but when absorbed by living creatures, has the ability to change how deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) functions. DNA is a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms. The existence of chemicals alone in the oceans seems worrying. But this is merely the tip off the iceberg. There is a literal cocktail of human created toxic pollutants in the oceans, with plastics being just one of the ingredients.

Marine Laws and plastic pollution

International waters are governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In essence, the twelve nautical miles surrounding a country are regarded as national waters, and a further twelve miles out from that is a contiguous zone, where the coastal nation can still enforce some but not all of its maritime laws. 

In New Zealand waters, The Resource Management (Marine Pollution) Regulations 1998 and The Maritime Transport Act 1994 cover pollution or litter into the marine environment. The Resource Management Act 1991 covers land based pollution and pollution in waterways, including the sea. There is also The Litter Act 1979. There may be more legislation that pertains to litter or pollution in terrestrial and marine environments. Whatever laws there are, they don’t appear to have a total effect. Admittedly, the issue of plastic in the oceans would be far worse without these laws, but dumping at sea and littering on land is a daily occurrence and so the problem continues. The vast majority of humans on this planet don’t seem to make the connection between their actions and the degradation of the oceans. What needs to change?

Ideological reform

Creating change of how we do things is very complex. Increasing awareness and connecting our actions to the outcome is elemental to succeed with reducing plastic in the oceans. Educating from the top down and the bottom up seems logical to me. A multi level approach, from governments and corporations to schools and communities is needed to reform attitudes and behaviour. Implementing a holistic approach, that by design cannot fail. This may take lateral thinking. Humans may need to place the environment’s needs before ours and to realise the value provided by biosphere.

If we do not act now, the natural capital our environment holds will be degraded to a point where it can no longer serve humanity. I believe that corporations and governments must be held accountable for laws or regulations for the plastics that are produced.

Extended Producer Responsibility

Implementing new legislation for plastic producers to manufacture non-toxic biodegradable packaging where practicable also makes sense. There is already plastic starch material that is biodegradable that can withstand high temperatures. This “Plastarch” material has been available for the past ten years and is stable in the atmosphere but will breakdown in compost, fresh and seawater.

If manufacturers are left to do whatever they want, nothing will change. Once plastic is in the hands of the consumer, there are so many variables of what can happen to the product. This is why plastic needs to be designed and constructed to be non-toxic, reusable or biodegradable.

Also, accountability to recycle or dispose correctly of plastic products needs to be linked to the producer. This is termed “Extended Producer Responsibility” (EPR).

It is also crucial for corporations to realise that they have been part of the pollution issue, as their plastic products end up fouling our waterways and oceans.  Responsibility to market their products to consumers in ways that promote environmental consciousness can have multiple benefits. Educating the consumers about their product, how to dispose or recycle and why, are fundamental when considering the physical and chemical impacts on ocean habitats.

In the United States (US), EPR is successfully established for products such as batteries, carpet, electronics and paint. In the past, US companies generating a lot of packaging waste have shown little leadership in EPR. Corporate responsibility group “As You Sow”, which works with consumer brands to accept responsibility for recycling their packaging, says Nestlé Waters’ advocacy of EPR for packaging in the US was the most important action taken by a company in the last decade on plastic because an optimized EPR system would reduce plastic loadings on land and in the ocean, and significantly increase recycling, (2014).

This shows that corporations can make a difference when pressured. In some cities and states around the world, plastic carry bags have been banned as a result of community and corporate engagement. Continuing to educate and reform our thinking towards reduced environmental impacts from plastics is vitally important for the oceans and us.