Impact of Plastic Pollution on Marine Life: Guide 2024

Sir David Attenborough recalls a haunting statement his headmaster made over 80 years ago about plastic.

Plastic seemed innovative at the time, but no one foresaw how our love for it would lead to cheap products and a throwaway culture, creating a huge environmental crisis, especially in our seas and waterways. The impact on marine life was also unexpected.

Every year, around 12.7 million tonnes of plastic end up in the sea. That’s like dumping a truckload of plastic into the ocean every minute. If this continues, experts say that by 2050, there could be more plastic in the ocean than fish.

As the headmaster said all those years ago, plastic doesn’t degrade or decay—it just keeps accumulating, taking over our seas and killing marine life.

Where does plastic pollution come from?

Plastic pollution from our rubbish and waste

One of the biggest sources of plastic in our seas is littering. Trash left on the beach, dumped in rivers, or blown in from our streets all add to the problem.

A lot of this trash comes from single-use plastics like straws, bottles, bags, crisp packets, stirrers, coffee cups, and yogurt pots. These items are used once and then tossed away. Sometimes they make it to the bin, but other times they end up in our seas. These single-use plastics are also tough to recycle.

Take coffee cups, for example. We throw away about 2.5 billion takeaway coffee cups each year. Many people think these paper cups are recyclable, but they have a plastic lining that makes them heatproof and watertight, which often can’t be separated from the paper for recycling. If you know you’ll be getting a takeaway coffee, why not bring a reusable cup? Or, if you have a few minutes, drink it in the shop using a ceramic cup.

Have you heard of the Leave No Trace movement?

The Leave No Trace movement is all about enjoying the outdoors while taking care of the environment. It encourages us to clean up after ourselves when we have a picnic in the park or spend a day at the beach. A big part of this is avoiding littering with single-use plastics like straws, bottles, bags, crisp packets, stirrers, coffee cups, and yogurt pots. These items can harm wildlife and spoil the beauty of natural areas. By reducing plastic waste, we can help protect the environment and leave a cleaner world for future generations.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

There’s so much trash in our oceans that it’s forming huge floating garbage patches. The biggest one is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP), located between Hawaii and California. This massive pile of waste contains about 80,000 tonnes of plastic—that’s the same weight as 500 jumbo jets!

Plastic pollution from our rivers

Eighty percent of plastic trash ends up in the ocean from our rivers. A report by Earthwatch Europe and Plastic Oceans UK found that plastic drinks bottles are the biggest problem, making up 14% of the plastic waste in European freshwaters. Food wrappers and takeaway cups are also common, at 12% and 6%. All of these items are single-use and non-recyclable.

Plastic pollution from our sewage system

Plastic waste also gets into our seas through our sewage system. Every day, people flush plastic-stemmed cotton buds and disposable wet wipes, which cause problems in our sewers, pollute the ocean, and harm marine life.

Microplastics are another big issue. These tiny bits of plastic, less than five millimeters long, are hard to filter out. They come from products like facial scrubs and synthetic clothes that shed fibers in the wash. Just one load of laundry can release up to 700,000 microplastic fibers!

Plastic pollution from the fishing industry

Debris from the fishing industry, known as ghost gear, is another major source of plastic pollution in our seas. Abandoned nets, for example, are a serious hazard for marine life, causing 3,200 reported incidents of damage to wildlife in England and Wales last year. At Padstow Sealife Safari, our team is very concerned about the rise in ghost gear. If we see any animals in distress, we report it to the authorities or help out if we can. We also encourage our team to pick up any floating debris when it’s safe to do so.

How does plastic pollution affect marine life?

Plastic pollution causes devastating wounds to wildlife

A recent RSPCA report revealed that plastic waste caused 579 cases of harm to wildlife in 2018 in England and Wales, up from 473 in 2015.

The main cause of harm is physical injuries or entanglement in plastic waste. Fish and marine birds often get trapped in plastic bags and drink rings, leading to painful wounds, strangulation, or drowning. Sea creatures that need to breathe air, like birds, mammals, and reptiles, can get so tangled that they can’t reach the surface and drown.

We’ve all seen heartbreaking videos and photos showing the severe injuries marine life suffers from ocean pollution. Remember the videos of sea turtles wrapped in plastic or with straws stuck in their noses, the whale shark caught in a fishing line, or the tiny seahorse holding a cotton bud?

While these images are tough to watch, they play a crucial role in raising awareness about this global issue. If you want to learn more about cleaning up our oceans to protect wildlife, check out Surfers Against Sewage for great local information on plastic pollution.

Plastic is mistaken for food

Another major danger of plastic in our oceans is that marine animals often mistake it for food. When they eat plastic, it can choke them, cause internal injuries, or slowly starve them to death.

A recent BBC documentary, “Drowning in Plastic,” highlighted the plight of shearwater colonies off the coast of Australia and New Zealand.

Shearwaters consume more plastic than any other mammal and are starving as a result. They unknowingly feed plastic fragments to their young, filling their stomachs and leaving no room for real food. The fledglings then lack the nutrition they need to survive when they go out to sea.

To help save these birds, biologists have been capturing the young shearwaters and flushing out their stomachs with seawater. Scientists have removed up to 250 pieces of plastic from a single bird.

And this is just one story among many.

Microplastics in our food chain

A million tonnes of tiny microplastics enter our oceans every year. These come from things like microbeads in cosmetics and fibers from synthetic clothes. They can also form when larger plastic items break down at sea. Imagine how many tiny pieces can come from just one plastic bag!

Scientists are now finding microplastics in our food chain. A study by Plymouth University looked at 504 fish caught off the coast of South West England and found that one third had microplastics in them. In seabirds, these tiny plastics have been shown to mess with iron absorption in the small intestine and put stress on the liver.

What are Nurdles?

Nurdles are small plastic pellets, about 3-5mm long, that look like lentils and are also called “mermaid tears.” They’re the raw material for making almost every plastic product you can think of, like carrier bags, food packaging, toys, and detergent bottles.

However, nurdles are a huge source of marine pollution, with millions ending up in our oceans each year. They often spill during transport and find their way into waterways, where marine animals mistake them for food, causing serious harm. Once in the ocean, nurdles can last for decades, breaking down into smaller pieces but never fully disappearing.

The production of nurdles also impacts climate change. Most are made from crude oil, a non-renewable resource, and the process of turning them into plastic products requires lots of energy and creates harmful emissions.

So, what can we do about nurdles? First, we need to avoid using them whenever possible. Choose products made from recycled plastics instead of new nurdles, and avoid single-use plastics to help protect marine life..

Also Read: Top 8 Plastic Recycling Innovations and Trends for 2024

Plastic kills coral reefs

Plastic pollution is killing our ocean’s coral reefs, which are vital to ocean ecosystems and home to thousands of species. Plastics carry bacteria and block light and oxygen from reaching the coral. When coral comes into contact with plastic, it’s 89% more likely to get diseased.

The long-term effects of plastic on the ocean

Plastic never degrades; it just breaks into smaller, potentially more harmful pieces. A viral social media post showed a Mars Bar wrapper from 1986 found on Constantine Bay in Cornwall. Many people shared similar stories of old plastic waste found on beaches and in forests.

If we continue this way, there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. What will this mean for our ecosystem, food chain, lifestyle, and health? No one knows for sure.

Last year, a study found microplastics in human stools for the first time. Microplastics have also been found in 83% of drinking water, meaning they’re entering our food chain. Scientists aren’t sure yet what impact these plastics will have on our health, but they could affect our immune response or how we absorb toxic chemicals.

What can we do to help with plastic pollution?

With people using more and more stuff every day, it’s hard to imagine a world without single-use plastics. But there’s hope! Research on plastic alternatives is making progress, and more products are being designed with circular economy principles. This means fewer plastics will end up in our oceans, and more will be recycled into new products.

Reduce, recycle, reuse

We’re better at recycling now than we used to be, but we still have too much plastic waste to handle. Every year, we have to export around 600,000 tonnes of plastic to other countries, causing waste problems in places like China and Malaysia. China has even stopped accepting our plastic waste.

So, besides recycling, we need to create less waste by reducing and reusing where possible.

Single-use plastics are a big problem in our waterways, and we can do better. Using reusable coffee cups and water bottles is a simple way to cut down on these plastics. The plastic bag charge introduced in 2015 has helped, but we can do more by using canvas or straw bags instead of heavy-duty plastic ones.

Another way to reduce single-use plastic is by choosing loose fruits and vegetables at the supermarket instead of pre-packed ones. Many stores are offering more bagless options. For example, Morrison’s plastic-free initiative for fruits and veggies saves 156 tonnes of plastic a year. Zero-waste shops, like Cornwall’s Incredible Bulk, are also becoming more common, allowing you to buy loose, packaging-free products by bringing your own containers.

The government is also helping by banning single-use plastic straws, drink stirrers, and cotton buds from April 2020. While paper alternatives are available, it’s even better to try and go without them altogether.

Beach cleans

Besides following the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) and improving waste management, you can join a beach clean-up to help remove litter from our coasts. There are many organized events where volunteers come together to pick up litter and plastic from beaches. This year, we joined the “Love Your Beach Day” event on Valentine’s Day in Cornwall and were amazed by the amount of plastic we collected.

You can also do your own #2minutebeachclean. Martin Dorey and Tab Parry’s 2-minute movement has gained huge popularity on social media. Their beach cleaning stations, which include bags and grabbers, are set up on beaches nationwide for you to use. It’s a simple and effective way to make a difference.

5 organisations leading the way to a better world with less plastic waste

Given the urgency of reducing plastic waste, many charities and organizations are stepping up to protect our oceans. Here are some great places to start if you want to help:

• Surfers Against Sewage: One of the UK’s top environmental charities, they work to protect the ocean, beaches, and wildlife. They run educational programs, fundraising events, and organize clean-ups nationwide.
• #2minutebeachclean: This charity believes small actions can make a big difference. Their goal is to clean up the planet two minutes at a time, encouraging people to take quick, effective actions.
• Padstow Plastic Free Initiative: Inspired by the Fairtrade movement, this group aims to make Padstow and its nearby shores one of the first Plastic Free Coastlines.
• Beach Guardian: Based in Cornwall, this Community Interest Company organizes beach cleans and educates the public about reducing waste and tackling sea pollution.
• WWF: A leading conservation organization working to protect wildlife and wild places. They have a campaign to raise awareness about plastic pollution and encourage people to take action.

These organizations are leading the way in reducing plastic waste and improving the health of our oceans. Get involved and make a difference!

The future of our marine life

There’s no doubt that plastic is wreaking havoc on marine life, and the long-term effects on our planet are still unknown. Thankfully, we’re starting to see positive changes with initiatives aimed at reducing plastic use. However, we still have a long way to go.

The future of marine life is in our hands. Will you help save it?

Learn more about the endangered sea life in the UK.

If you think we’ve missed something, please let us know! We’re always excited to learn about new and innovative ways to protect our environment!