The Ecology Book

285

See also: The food chain 132–133 ■ Humankind’s dominance over nature 296

■ Human devastation of Earth 299 ■ Man and the Biosphere programme 310–311

THE HUMAN FACTOR

Indian Ocean as well as in smaller

bodies of water such as the North

Sea. Plastic microbeads, introduced

by cosmetic companies in the

1990s, add to the problem. Used

in personal care products such

as soaps, facial scrubs, and

toothpastes, the beads travel from

wastewater systems into rivers and

oceans, where they are consumed

by fish and other animals, with

the same damaging effects as

microplastics (see panel, far right).

Steps to limit plastic

Cleaning up plastic pollution is a

gargantuan task. Breaking plastics

down into their constituent

chemicals requires huge amounts

of energy, which also damages the

environment. The best solution is

to learn to live without plastic.

Most countries have banned or are

working toward phasing out the use

of microbeads in beauty products,

and many countries, following the

lead of Bangladesh in 2002, are

banning the provision of single-use

plastic bags. Other measures

include banning plastic straws

and promoting the use of reusable

water bottles and recyclable or

compostable packaging. ■

Effects on wildlife

Plastics pose a danger to

wildlife in many ways. Larger

items such as plastic shopping

bags can choke or strangle

birds and marine animals; if

ingested, they can damage

their digestive tracts or cause

starvation by obstructing the

stomach. If microplastics are

ingested, toxins can pass

into an animal’s fatty tissues,

a process that then passes up

the foodchain.

According to Greenpeace,

nine out of ten seabirds, one

in three sea turtles, and more

than half the population of

whales and dolphins have

eaten plastic. Even some of

the crustaceans living in the

western Pacific’s Mariana

Trench, the deepest point in

the world’s oceans, are known

to have ingested plastic.

Companies are starting

to take the need to reduce

plastic use seriously. A brewer

in Florida, for instance, has

found a way to make six-pack

rings from by-products of the

brewing process, so that

seabirds can chew them off

if they become caught in them.

A Northern Gannet is entangled

in the plastic rings of a six-pack.

Birds that scavenge along the shore

such as seagulls are especially prone

to being caught in such debris.

The throwaway society

cannot be contained—it

has gone global. We cannot

store and maintain or

recycle all our stuff.

Charles J. Moore

Our oceans are

turning into a plastic soup.

It takes thousands of years to decompose.

Wave action and UV sunlight breaks

plastic in the ocean into tiny fragments, which spread

through the water.

Plastic is recycled, burned, put into

landfill, or dumped in the ocean.

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