Microbeads Essay Outline

In 1988, it was determined that the United States alone, was producing 30 million tonnes of plastic per year (Derraik, J.G.B., 2002). This can be compared with the global and annual production of 260 million tonnes of plastic as of 2012 (Pearson, E., 2014). Plastics are lightweight, durable, and cheap to make. This makes them incredibly easy to sell and manufacture. However, these attributes are many of the reasons why plastics are the most prominent type of marine debris, and why they are a serious hazard to various ecosystems and the organisms that live within them (Derraik, J.G.B.,

Over the few years, humans have discarded millions of tons of garbage into the oceans. Ever wonder where the cup you threw out this morning will end up? Or the plastic spoon you used for lunch? How about the cap of a water bottle? The calamitous plastic ends up in the water, taking thousands of years to decompose. The consumption of plastic by the marine life is perilous and the leading cause of death for life on shore.

From the polar regions to the equator, these microplastics are everywhere (Avio, 2017). While we know there are tons of plastic in the ocean, it is difficult for researchers to give an exact amount. However, after twenty-four expeditions, a team of researchers in 2014 estimated that there are at least 5.25 trillion plastic particles weighing 268,940 tons floating in the ocean (Eriksen, 2014). They estimate that the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans contain 55.6% of the particles found in the oceans (Eriksen, 2014). These researchers have helped give emphasis and proof as to why the worlds plastic consumption needs to be dealt with, either by banning non-biodegradable plastic all together, or by providing people all around the world with an easier way to recycle plastic.

It is not just marine animals, from planktons to whales, which ingest microplastics. It can end up in humans when they eat seafood.

B. Main Point #2: Fish bring in water through their gills and ingest micro plastics causing a chain reaction 1. So what are “microplastics”? “NOAA classifies microplastics as small plastic pieces less than 5 mm in diameter which can be harmful to our ocean and aquatic life”. Microbeads are also tiny pieces of plastic added to health and beauty products, such as some cleansers and

To put this in perspective, if ten small fish who ate a single piece of microplastics are consumed by a single larger fish, that large fish will then have all ten of the pieces of plastic that the smaller fish ate earlier. Not only does the larger fish have the pieces of plastic in its body, it also has a concentrated amount of chemicals that come along with the plastics. If marine animals are higher in the food web, the more concentrated the chemicals are within the organisms along with all of the pieces of plastic the previous organisms has consumed, this concept is called biomagnification. Humans are also heavily impacted as well. Due to the fact that fish is the world's primary source of protein, meaning that when we consume fish we are potentially as well consuming the tiny pieces of plastics and highly concentrated chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency agrees that bioaccumulation has integrated itself into the human food web, which could result in malfunctions of the kidneys, liver, and the nervous system. It may also contribute to the development of cancer. In the United States alone, there are an estimated 75,000 chemicals that need further research, before any conclusions can be made regarding the chemicals

Ocean pollution can be separated into two different categories: large plastic and microplastics. Large plastic can be anything from nets, buoys, or ropes used and forgotten by fishermen, to glass, plastic bags and rubber used by the everyday Americans (Eriksen, 154). This plastic can be described as the more visual type of pollutant. This type of plastic is also very

To marine life, plastic is like a poison. Filter feeders suck the tiny particles up resulting in their bodies being marred. Some animals eat the plastic which sometimes poisons them or leads to fatal blockages. Because there is a lot of predation in the ocean, the poison that encompasses the bodies of marine life affects the entire food chain (Silverman). The accumulated plastic and trash sometimes wash ashore, affecting beaches and oceans all over the world. This damages boat and submarine equipment, litter beaches, dissuades swimming and harms the

In the ocean, plastic debris injures and kills fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Marine plastic pollution has impacted at least 267 species worldwide, including 86% of all sea turtle species, 44% of all seabird species and 43% of all marine mammal species. The impacts include fatalities as a result of ingestion, starvation, suffocation, infection, drowning, and entanglement. For example, Leatherback turtles often mistake floating plastic bags for jellyfish. A plastic bag can cause a turtle to choke and eventually die. Our marine life is hurt as a result of our irresponsible actions and it's on our power to change

In the world today, not a single of us can truly say that we don’t at lest come in contact with plastic. They are everywhere, in our cars, carpets, food, and virtually every other product we consume; it has becomes a globalization needs that we can’t run away from. As according to the National oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) state the approximately 1.4 billion pounds of trash enters the ocean per year. Most of it get washed up on the beaches by waves and tides, some of it sinks to the bottom of the ocean floor, some got eaten up by marine animals mistaking it for food. Ultimately plastic pollution is a man made catastrophe, as soon as it enter the Oceans it is causing harm to the ecosystems and environment, as wells as affecting

The livelihood of fishermen, and consumers of seafood are all at risk due to these inconspicuous materials. As previously mentioned microplastics can affect entire ecosystems, which in turn can cause the populations of almost all marine species to dwindle. This is a huge problem for fishermen, as they rely on the delicate balance of nature in order to capture their fish. With lower amounts of fish available to be caught, a large part of the economy is cut off due to a simple fix in consumer products. Another problem arises with the fish that are still caught and sold to consumers. Since fish do come into contact with microplastics, a large quantity of fish ingest these materials, meaning the fish on your table could contain the same pieces of plastic someone used in their face wash or toothpaste. Additionally, due to the high surface area to volume ratio of microplastics, they uptake a higher amount of toxins much more readily (Wright et al, 446). As these plastics are consumed through the food chain, by the time it gets to your plate the toxins in the fish could be a thousand times higher than it was freely in the ocean water (Alexander-White, 3). This can cause sickness and possibly death to consumers of seafood

Plastic debris and litter is a serious pollution that is currently affecting oceans, waterways and coastal lines. Plastic is a man made tangible substance made from a range of organic polymers such as polyethylene, PVC, and nylon. This material is high on demand with the human kind but takes an average of 450 years to disintegrate. This product is impacting the marine environment, wildlife, and then eventually circling back to humans. Currently, the world’s biggest plastic patch is located north in the Pacific Ocean, trapped in what’s called a gyre (known as an ocean rip). There are also another two plastic islands located in the Indian and Atlantic oceans. These three plastic patches contain a higher amount of plastic but to today's count, in total there are 5 forward. Sea Education Society scientists studied plastics in the Atlantic and calculated there are 580,000 pieces of plastic per square kilometer. Causes of plastic are endless, but trash is the main contributor. Plastic is located in almost every item around, and once it's in the trash, all the garbage gets dumped in land fills and seeps into the ground and soil affecting wildlife. Plastic is cheap and substantially available, so over production of plastic is high. The cause of plastic filling up land and oceans is a couple of reasons. People normally have a one-time use for plastic then throw it away but after that, the plastic is hard to eradicate. Burning plastic leads

In more recent times, policy changes in many countries have reflected the view that the ocean does not have an infinite capacity to absorb our waste. However, marine pollution remains a major problem and threatens marine life in the ocean at all levels. Micro plastics is another issue to our environment as it is killing and polluting the environment. Micro plastics are bathroom products such as facial exfoliators, body scrubs, and toothpaste is tiny pieces of plastic that are affecting animals, not only marine life but also birds such as seagulls, penguins, Cuban bird, pelicans and so many more other birds also seal, crocodiles, polar bears are also dying from this. The plastic pollution travels easily from land to sea. It blows in from bins and garbage dumps, or flows through stormwater drains into our waterways and eventually ends up in the

When PCBs from plastics pollute the environment, they may contaminate water sources and become ingested by fish. The chemicals ingested by fish are then stored in fatty tissue and bioaccumulate up the food chain. Thus, humans who consume fish and other seafood may be consuming PCBs as well. Another key route of PCB exposure lies in the use of PCB­containing personal care products. An increasing number of personal care products including facial scrubs, soaps, and toothpastes contain thousands of microplastics in the form of plastic microbeads. These beads are then flushed down drains and make their way into the environment via poor disposal methods or by other means as part of their intended use (PCBs and Human Health, 2016).

With the combination of polymers that don’t biodegrade and mass overproduction, companies are harming the environment in severe ways. Plastic, a material seen everywhere, is a polymer made from oil. It is mass produced to make everything from shampoo bottles to automobiles and does not biodegrade. When it is eventually thrown out, the waste usually finds it way into the ocean, where it is either buried under sediment or eaten by marine life (Weisman 287-295). Creating a material that will ultimately kill marine life will undoubtedly wreak havoc on the