Microplastics

The ocean is one of the most important sources of life on the planet but it is also the most polluted. While the ocean is polluted by a variety of things, the majority of them being due to humans, one of the most abundant and widespread pollutants are microplastics. There are over 1.3 billion tons of microplastics in the ocean and that accounts for about 11% of all ocean pollution. These microplastics enter the ocean through domestic runoff which contain microbeads and microplastic fragments and also from the fragmentation of the large plastic trash. Because these plastics are so small, they can harm marine life without a trace. They have many detrimental effects on marine life including reducing food intake,delaying growth, causing oxidative damage and abnormal behavior. These microplastics get carried up the food chain and can even end up on the plate of humans. These plastics are a threat to everything from humans to plankton. Once again this shows how by polluting the environment, humans are really hurting themselves. The key to solving this problem is removing as much plastic from our lives as possible and correctly disposing of the plastics that we do use.