Plastic In Our Ocean
Origin Of Plastic
In 1907 the first type of plastic was created by Leo Hendrik Baekeland. Cheap and durable, the world quickly grew attracted to plastic. It began to be overused because it was so easy to make. Today there are many problems with plastic, but what can we do to solve them? How does plastic get into the ocean, what are the effects plastic has on marine environments, and what should we do?
Traveling Plastic
Most marine debris comes from the land or runoff. When a trash can is overfilled, natural weather such as rain or wind can push and pull the trash out of the container. Especially on an island, everything lands in a body of water. In this case, it is the Pacific Ocean. Water Runoff can carry plastic into the ocean as well as other harmful objects. Plastic is one of the many items that are not biodegradable. Because of this, plastic will stay in the ocean for many years, unless removed.
Microplastics
Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic that are less than 5 millimeters in length, that pollute our environments. There are two types of microplastics in our oceans. There are primary microplastics that are mostly made up of microbeads, microfibers from clothing, and plastic pellets, (otherwise known as nurdles). Secondary microplastics are plastics that are created from the degradation of larger plastics through the process of weathering. The problem with microplastics is that they are too small to easily collect.
Pacific Garbage Patch
The pacific garbage patch is a vortex of marine debris in the pacific ocean. The garbage patch is made up of plastic, chemicals and other marine debris. The patch spans 1.6 million square kilometers, and on average has 4 particles per cubic meter.
Solutions
Now that you know about plastic pollution here are some ways you can help.
You can prevent trash from entering the ocean if you follow the pick up three rule, every time you go to a public area, pick up at least three pieces of trash. By following this rule you can help keep our beaches and oceans clean. You should also be wary of what you do with your trash. To make sure it does not end up getting blown or washed away, avoid overfilled trash cans. These may seem like small things that will not help, but if we all contribute we can keep our island and oceans clean. Remember we live on a beautiful island, and we need to keep it that way.