Microplastics cause severe marine pollution, suffocation of
hundreds of marine species occurs on ingestion of microplastic. They can also
contribute the transport of non-indigenous marine species to new place which
eventually result in threatening the marine biodiversity and food web. They can
also cause environmental pollution by accumulating toxic substance on the
surface. There are many old and new methods to control but no one perfect
solution for this issue. It is now responsibility of all people to think a new
combination of different strategies to resolve this problem.
Plastic pollution has become a global
environmental issue as plastic debris has reached and is found in all oceans of
the world with adverse impacts on marine biota, biodiversity as well as human
health .
Although, the threats posed by plastics to the marine environment were
initially ignored for a long time, they recently gained attraction and
recognition . Since the development of the first plastic “Bakelite” in 1907, anumber of cheap production techniques have been developed to mass produce themodern day plastics. Plastics started to enter the ocean in increasing
quantities from the 1950s from a wide variety of land and sea based sources;
river, run-off, beach-goers and tourists, ship. Although, there are no reliable
estimates of the inputs at a regional or global scale, the trend assumed that
the total quantities have increased over the years . In 1975 alone, it was
estimated that the world’s fishing fleet dumped into the ocean approximately
135,400 tons of plastic fishing gears and 23,600 tons of packaging materials. A
survey carried out in South African beaches in 5-year intervals revealed that
the quantities of plastic debris dumped increased tremendously over the years.
Plastics, which are synthetic polymers, are still one of the most widely used
and versatile materials in the world. The global production of plastic in 2012
was 288 million tonnes. They are lightweight, highly durable, strong and cheap.
These properties make them suitable to produce a wide range of products,
persistent and hazardous in the environment. Read more...........
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