by Juliene Barcoma
Be honest, how many times have you heard “Save the turtles!”, or “Plastics harm the sea creatures!” and brushed it off because you aren’t directly affected anyway?
This response isn’t unique, it’s something that society as a whole resorts to. We tend to be aware of such environmental threats, yet do not take action unless we are on the brink of suffering the consequences. What will it take for people to care?
Opening our eyes means acknowledging the cruel conditions we’ve created–facing the harsh truth of our own impact.
What exactly creates hardship for marine life? Simple question, a list of possible answers. But for now, let us take a deep dive into plastic pollutants and how exactly they contaminate the ocean.
What is Plastic Pollution?
It is the build-up of plastics in the environment, materials that usually take years to break down.
There are many types of plastics that threaten harm to the ocean. They can be classified as macroplastics, microplastics, or nanoplastics–the three are different, yet they all equally contribute to the deterioration of marine biodiversity. Marine animals either find themselves entangled in these pieces of trash or suffering from toxic chemicals these wastes contain.
Macroplastics are the largest types of the three–these are ones that are easily seen, such as plastic bags, water bottles, disposable utensils, etc. These often form clusters with one another, while sea creatures are also likely to gravitate towards them. Since macroplastics are larger than the other classifications, a lot of sea creatures also tend to get trapped into these–animals tend to get entangled in big pieces of waste like nets or plastic bags.
Microplastics are ones that are between 1 to 5 millimeters, some coming from what used to be larger plastics. Though they aren’t the smallest kind, they can still be easily consumed by marine animals–especially organisms like fishes.
Nanoplastics are the smallest types of waste, and they are often hard to see through the human eye. Because of this, they often seep into parts of the marine ecosystem–entering tissues and organs of living organisms.
How do plastics break down?
This issue doesn’t just cover the physical appearances or visible to the naked eye aspects–plastic pollution also happens chemically, when plastic wastes seep into the ocean and contaminate the water through toxins.
The process of these wastes breaking down happens as a result of many different factors. Sunlight, temperature, and wave moments are three key factors that determine how exactly toxins from plastics dissolve into the water and slowly build the risk of a damaged marine life.
What different roles do they play?
Heat, or temperature in general, plays a significant role in this process as warmer water helps to speed up the release of toxins–in other words, it makes it easier for chemicals to spread and seep into the marine ecosystem. In relation to each other, warmer temperatures speed up the time it takes for plastics to break down, while the colder and deeper parts of the ocean keeps these plastics ‘preserved’.
Secondly, the movement and direction of waves initially make it easier for chemicals to reach the deeper parts of the ocean–they serve as the continuous force that assists in breaking down larger plastics into microplastics.
Sunlight plays a significant role in a process called photodegradation, wherein UV radiation makes plastics brittle enough for them to fragment into microplastics.
Photodegradation
When the three factors work together, the plastics become weaker and become smaller pieces. Chemical bonds that hold plastics together are broken in the polymer chains, resulting in highly toxic free radicals–unstable molecules or atoms that can damage cells, lipids, proteins, and DNA of marine animals.
When this process takes place, it doesn’t mean the plastic wastes completely disappear. They just break into smaller pieces that are even more dangerous as they become easier for organisms to intake or absorb.
Brings back the question–what will it take for people to care?
As these processes take place in the marine ecosystem all at once, we are confronted with the cruel reality we’ve created as a result of our careless actions. Marine life is at stake–this reality proves itself time and time again as we continue to feign ignorance.
Maybe the crisis poses as something so complex, but beyond those complicated explanations and scientific facts, the responsibility we all hold presents itself better than ever.
Because now that we’ve understood what happens under the sea, we can become part of the solution that addresses how it starts and changes how it ends.
