With marine litter, it is understood as the waste created by humans that get discharged into the marine or coastal place. Debris into the marine includes solid material either manufactured or processed, disposed of in the marine. These materials affect marine wildlife in battling their livelihood. The scientists have come up with findings that there is a need to come up with some marine litter solutions to improve marine wildlife.
Being a Significant threat to the marine environment, marine litter is a serious problem. Do you know how it impacts the marine environment? Check out the article.
Facts and figures to know more
One should get aware of the litter in the ocean facts, which can result in spreading awareness to stop it. Are you aware of how much time is needed for the littered water to dissolve into the marine ocean? Check out below for all kinds of waste:
- Bags made from plastic: It takes 450 years for dissolving into the ocean.
- Cigarette left-outs: It takes 1 to 5 years in the breakdown process.
- Bottles made from glass: A huge period of 1 million years is required.
- Cans made from aluminium: It takes at least 80 years.
- Banana and orange peels: It required 50 years in the oceans.
- Cans made from tin: A period of 50 years would make it break down.
After knowing these facts, it might disturb you when you do any harm to the ocean. The time required for the litter to get dissolved into the marine is not a day or so. It might take years to get it to happen. Along with the discharge, it does affect marine wildlife.
Other facts about marine debris
Apart from the elements induced into the oceans, which take millions of years to get processed, marine life also gets affected. Among the litter in the ocean facts, some more findings include the following:
- About 1 million marine birds die due to marine debris each year.
- 86% of the turtles in the ocean get affected by the waste.
- Ships in the ocean release 5.5 million rubbish things each year around the world in the marine.
- 100,000 animals and turtles in the marine, including whales, dolphins, and seals, die with the litter each year in the world.
- Each year, about 6 million tonnes of marine litter gets disposed into the ocean from all over the world, which weighs just like the weight of millions of elephants.
- Over 260 species of animals all over the world have made an intake of the fishing ropes, line, nets, and other waste discarded.
- Coral reefs are getting affected badly by the emission of carbon in the environment. The oceans are turning acidic due to the absorbing of carbon dioxide existing in abundance.
- More than 220 million tonnes of plastic production happens each year.
- Dolphin and whale death cause reveals the presence of marine litter in their stomach.
What impact does marine litter have?
It’s not just an ugly scene, but it can also cause harm to ocean wildlife, humans, and the ecosystem as well. The coral reefs are at a larger risk with the marine litter. In the oceans, marine species of animal intake, the particles thrown as waste by humans into the coastal environment, which can even lead to their death. The waste, which includes sharpened metal, litter large size pieces, syringes, or other medical materials, can even target humans as a threat.
People can bring a change in ocean life
Not only one country is affected by ocean discharge or marine pollution, but it is also the entire world which is a target. In the United Nations Environment Programme, it was reported that 80% of the marine litter emerges on the land. Recent studies also came up with the finding that plastic material that is exposed to the marine is just a result of insufficient procedures for waste management and bad recycling management.
What are the identifiable causes of marine pollution?
- Insufficiently managed sites for landfill
- Problems related to sewage management
- Overflow of the sewer waste
- Activities like shore fishing
- Processing materials such as plastic or glass in the ocean
- Existence of manufacturing sites near the marine area
- Poor containers or vehicles to collect waste
- Illegitimate discharge of industrial or domestic waste