The invention of plastic has revolutionized the way we live and is a staple of modern society. According to the Science History Institute’s article entitled The History and Future of Plastics, plastic was originally developed as an alternative to ivory, which was drastically decreasing in supply (1). The development of plastic was revolutionary because it was the first synthetic polymer to be created. Its shape and length were able to be manipulated allowing plastic to be lightweight, versatile and malleable. This meant that human manufacturing was no longer limited to the constraints of natural resources. Plastic was initially praised as a remarkable, inexpensive substance with endless possibilities. Plastic replaced resources used in cars, hospitals, furniture, packaging and so forth. Today, plastic is a global commodity that is used in virtually every industry. However beginning in the 1960’s, the world started to see the effects of the accumulation of non-biodegradable plastic waste. The chemical properties that make plastic versatile and long-lived also make it non biodegradable, or capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms. (2) According to National Geographic’s article Here’s How Much Plastic Trash is Littering the Earth, about 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic has been produced, of which only 9% has been recycled (CITE). Due to plastic’s extensive lifespan, we have 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic waste on our planet (CITE natgeo).
Plastic waste has had detrimental effects on the environment and its species, specifically the ocean. Scientists from the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis estimate that roughly 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean annually. (5) Plastic enters the ocean through the sewers, landfills, litter that is carried out to sea, natural disasters, mismanaged waste, ships dumping their waste into the ocean and numerous other methods. (7) Due to ocean gyres, or large current systems that carry ocean water around the globe, no part of the sea is safe from plastic debris. They carry buoyant plastic all throughout the sea where it invades the habitats of marine life and litters the shores. (8) These ocean gyres also cause plastic debris to accumulate in mass amounts in certain areas. According to the Ocean Cleanup Organization, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the “largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world and is located between Hawaii and California.” (9) Although previously estimated at around the size of Texas, it is now found to be about 1.6 million square kilometers. That would make the Great Pacific Garbage Patch double the size of texas and about 3 times the size of France. (10) Despite the name, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is less like a patch and more like soup. Although there is visible debris floating throughout the ocean, our plastic waste is mostly tiny microplastics that cannot be easily removed from the sea. This soup like accumulation is much more dangerous than a patch of macroplastic because it is harder to identify and remove and spans an immense distance. Although the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is by far the largest, it is one of many massive garbage patches accumulating in the ocean (11, 12).
Plastic debris impacts nearly 700 marine species. Many marine species, such as turtles, fish, whales and seabirds, mistake plastic for food and ingest it. This can lead to malnourishment, decreased fitness, ingestion of toxic chemicals and death. (13) Approximately 1 million seabirds die from plastic ingestion annually. (15) According to Coastal Care’s article entitled, When the Mermaids Cry: The Great Plastic Tide, “On shores, researchers have also watched in horror as hungry turtles wolf down jellyfish-like plastic bags and seabirds mistake old lighters and toothbrushes for fish, choking when they try to regurgitate the plastic trash for their starving chicks” (CITE). Fishing nets, which compose 46% of the mass in the marine debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch kill thousands of marine mammals like seals, sea lions and dolphins each year. (9) Fishing nets that have been improperly disposed of, or ghost nets, can trap, drown and choke animals. If they become entangled and immobile due to these nets they can die of infection or starvation. (14) Approximately 100,000 marine animals die annually from plastic entanglement, however those are just the animals found so the actual figure is estimated to be much larger. (15) When plastics are broken down in the ocean into microplastics, they release potentially toxic chemicals into the sea. When marine life ingests plastic, or swims about in water with measurable amounts of these compounds, they come in contact with these chemicals that are known to disrupt hormone function and cause reproductive problems. (16) The plastic chemicals ingested by marine life move up through the food chain as prey is ingested by predators eventually reaching humans at the top of the food chain. (9) At fish markets in California and Indonesia, one out of four fish had plastic remnants in their guts and another study found that 33% of sampled shellfish also contained plastic debris. (18) In addition, plastic pollution affects our economy. According to the United Nations, plastic pollution costs our economy 13 billion dollars annually. This money includes coastal cleanup initiatives and the financial loss incurred by fisheries. (9)
There are three methods of disposing plastic: landfills, incineration and recycling. To begin, landfills are sites of waste disposal or large heaps of debris which may be buried. Landfills are considered very inefficient because plastic has exponentially large amounts of energy contained within its bonds that is wasted in landfills. While in landfills, plastic can also leach harmful chemicals and pollutants into the ground. Not to mention, if the landfill is mismanaged, debris can easily be blown or carried out to sea. (19) The next method of plastic disposal is incineration. As previously mentioned, due to the composition of plastic it is has extremely high potential energy. Therefore burning plastic provides a great energy source. However, when plastic is incinerated it releases hazardous chemicals into the atmosphere at a time when climate change is a prevalent problem. (19) The final method is recycling. Recycling is considered the most efficient method of plastic disposal. If recycling was implemented in full force it would drastically decrease our production of plastic and help to curve this debris epidemic. Unfortunately many countries have poor waste disposal methods or do not implement recycling initiatives so only a small fraction of our plastic supply is recycled annually. (19)
Ocean plastic pollution can be explained by the treadmill of production theory. The treadmill of production theory states that because capitalism requires economic growth, which is dependent upon perpetually increasing our consumption levels by depleting our natural resources, environmental degradation is an inevitable byproduct of capitalism (CITE). This theory also addresses how the relentless pursuit of profit factors into environmental degradation. To understand how plastic is an example of the treadmill of production, it is necessary to first address how plastic is also an example of planned obsolescence. One time use plastic is a staple of modern society. Roughly half of the produced plastic is made for one time use (CITE). The production of plastic with an intentionally limited lifespan allows for excessive consumption of plastic, which consequently increases the massive amount of waste produced. As stated by Leyla Acaroglu in her article, System Failures: Planned Obsolescence and Enforced Disposability, “Our daily lives are now predominantly scripted and defined by single-use throwaway stuff. Think of how many of your normal daily interactions involve an enforced aspect of disposability” (CITE). To name a few, consider the abundance of one time use plastic straws, bags, packaging, bottles, and more. This planned obsolescence is no mistake, it serves to amplify profits. There is a constant stream, or treadmill, of plastic production and consumption. Although this constant consumption of plastic serves to further economic growth and profits, it also is associated with immense ocean pollution. Proponents of this theory also argue against depending on technological innovations to solve problems like plastic pollution. Consider the California start-up company, The Ocean Cleanup. They have developed new technology capable of cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Although this may seem like the ideal solution upon first glance, it will not matter whether we clean up the current pollution if we are still dumping millions of tons of plastic pollution into the ocean annually. Problems like this require structural change within our society to fix. In line with the tragedy of the commons, society as a whole considers the ocean a “common” to be used and abused – the ultimate trash can. Whether it is an individual littering without regard for where their trash may end up, or a larger corporation dumping their waste into the ocean, the ocean is exploited as each individual uses it to advance their own interests. The nature – society dichotomy describes the ways in which society does not consider itself apart of nature’s interconnected web, when in actuality our actions have consequences.