Plastic in the sea: 834 pieces of plastic every 100 meters

La plastic bags, despite the many promises to reduce its use, is the first factor of marine pollutionWe find it everywhere, in sea, as on the sand and rocks.

PLASTIC IN THE SEA

In the sea, on the beaches, along the coasts. We are surrounded by plastic. In particular, as the survey shows Beach Litter 2022 by Legambiente conducted in 62 points of the coast, they result 834 pieces of waste every 100 meters of beach, of which 84% is plastic and 46% is disposable items. Plastic tops the list, followed by glass and ceramics, metal, paper, and cardboard. And then there are plastic bags, shopping bags, and envelopes.

ALSO READ: Reduce plastic every day

HOW MUCH PERCENTAGE OF PLASTIC GOES TO THE SEA?

Unfortunately, this is a significant amount. In fact, it is estimated that the percentage The amount of plastic that ends up in the sea every day is equal to the amount that can be contained in a truck. This quantity, according to Greenpeace, is equal to 8 million tons of plastics and microplastics per year, not only causes visible consequences at the moment, but also and above all major problems in the long term. The material breaks down, transforming into very small particles that are ingested by fish and animals in general and by humans. In particular, more than 100 marine species are at risk. The main causes of death are suffocation and ingestion, not to mention the resulting injuries or entrapment.

WHO THROWS PLASTIC INTO THE SEA?

There's no single answer to this question. Rather, it's a combination of factors, starting with waste, tourism, and maritime traffic. If we take the coast as a reference, the beach is "at home" here. Think of the disposable tableware, the bottles of water and drinks we sip on the shoreline, but also simply the packaging and even the fishing nets. According to what was reported byOikos Institute, a non-profit organization committed to protecting biodiversity and promoting more sustainable living models in Europe and the countries of the Global South:

• 78% of plastic in the sea is linked to inefficient waste management
• 18% comes from fishery, aquaculture and navigation (regarding the dispersion at sea of ​​nets, fish boxes and traps)
• 4% comes from rivers

ALSO READ: Microplastics: A proposed law to ban them in the cosmetics industry

PLASTIC POLLUTION IN THE SEA

We can therefore talk about sea-garbage dump: it must be said that in this case it is not so much the industrial activities and the fishing itself that are in question, even though it contributes to the disaster with the bad habit of throwing the boxes of fish into the water polystyrene, but how much our lifestyles. Our daily habits. In fact, 54 percent of waste is of domestic origin and plastic waste ends up in the sea, or on beaches, because we don't do a simple thing correctly. collectionWe are the polluters, conscious agents of a filth for which we pay three times: by defacing natural beauty where we perhaps spend our holidays, by inflating the costs of cleanup, and even by eating sometimes poisoned fish at our table.

TO LEARN MORE: Eliminating plastic from the oceans is possible, according to a project by the very young Boyan Slat.

PLASTIC DECOMPOSITION TIMES IN THE SEA

The real problem of plastic, which makes this material, if not disposed of correctly, a true enemy of man, it's its time to decompose. Biblical. Think that a cardboard box disappears in a month, it's a toilet paper roll in sixty days. But for a disposable diapers last 200 years, and a century must pass before the complete elimination of plastic cutlery or lighters.

These numbers alone should lead us to be more responsible, reducing domestic plastic consumption and disposing of it in the appropriate containers through separate waste collection. The decomposition time makes plastic very expensive to dispose of, more than a cleanup linked to an oil spill at sea. As for fish, a study by the University of Siena, funded by the UN and entitled Plastic Blusters, tells us what we eat when fish arrive at our tables stuffed with microplastics, the most difficult to eliminate. Examining the remains of tuna and swordfish, Tuscan researchers have traced enormous quantities of small pellets of residues from cream tubes, toothpaste and spazzoliniThe poor fish mistake these shiny pieces of plastic for plankton, their natural food, and thus become poisoned.

HOW LONG DOES A PLASTIC BOTTLE LAST IN THE SEA?

The degradation time of waste in the sea naturally varies depending on the material from which it is composed. In the case of a plastic bottle, or even one shopper, fifteen years aren't enough, maybe 20. Unless they were made from biodegradable plastic. In that case, the time is shortened, and disposal is speeded up by the help of bacteria and other microorganisms that "digest" the material.

USEFUL TIPS FOR ELIMINATING AND DISPOSING OF PLASTIC PROPERLY:

• Plastic: how to recycle
• Plastic bottles in exchange for shopping vouchers
• Plastic bottle caps: how to recycle them and where to take them