Plastic is the third most common man-made material on the earth, after steel and concrete. Furthermore, the plastic mass on the planet doubled the biomass of all terrestrial and marine animals together.
There are many different types of plastic, for this reason it is a complex and difficult material to manage, and at global level only the 9% of it is recycled. Plastic waste accumulates in landfills, or it leaks into the environment: plastic waste makes up 80% of all marine pollution and there are approximately 30 million tonnes of plastic waste accumulated in the sea and oceans.
Plastic continues to break down in the ocean, and this event cause a sequence of evolutions: plastic becomes microplastic, and microplastic becomes nanoplastic. Thanks to the massive quantity of plastic in our oceans, there are six major areas of plastic accumulation in the world’s oceans called “Plastic Islands” or “Plastic Garbage Patches”. One of these is in the Mediterranean Sea (between the Corsica and Elba Island), which has exceeded the maximum tolerable limit for the presence of microplastic beyond which there are significant ecological risks.
Globally, around 2.150 marine species are impacted by plastic, that is very toxic and it cause both direct physical effects (e.g. entanglement, injures, suffocation and lack of adequate nutrition) and indirect chemical effects (e.g. chemical intoxication). In particular, the chemical intoxication, due to toxic additives, can cause serious reproductive, neuronal and metabolic damages, resulting in impaired reproductive development and alarming behaviours.
It is in this way that the microplastics are polluting the food chain with dangerous consequences also on the human health: it has been estimated that, every day, humans can absorb over 100.000 microplastics from food, air and water.
Microplastics ingestion can lead to the increase of biomagnification of persistent organic pollutants in marine food chains and to the increase of the ecotoxicological risks in the wildlife and for humans.
Plastic pollution is a global and a complex issue, which needs shared and international solutions, addressing the entire plastic’s life cycle. One possible solution is through the application of a circular economy, based on the efficient management of the resources, the minimization and elimination of waste, and the valorisation of products and materials. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to involve stakeholders in the plastic supply chain, researchers and both the private and the public sectors.
Clean-up, monitoring and awareness campaigns are also important. Everyone can and must do their part: researchers, companies, institutions and citizens can reduce plastic leakage into the environment.
Erica de Risky
WWF ITALY
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