What’s the Deal with Marine Plastic Pollution?

How much plastic do you use in a day? In most of the world, plastic use is so thoroughly intertwined in day-to-day life that many of us don’t think about it. Even the plastics we don’t think about end up somewhere, though: Each year, around 19 million metric tons of plastic enter the world’s aquatic ecosystems like lakes, rivers and seas. Wildlife in these environments often ingest plastic waste, damaging their digestive systems, or get entangled in bags or other large pieces of plastic. Plastics are also made with toxic chemical additives, which leach into marine ecosystems and water supplies.

Photos of animals tangled up in six-pack-can rings have become emblematic of plastic pollution, but there’s a massive problem, caused by tiny bits, at play. Plastic waste degrades into microplastics, which are plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches). Microplastics in our waterways make it back into our drinking water, whether it’s tap or bottled water. They have been shown to accumulate in the bodies of marine and aquatic animals, causing oxidative damage (harm to cells and tissues caused by excess of reactive oxygen molecules known as free radicals), DNA damage, infertility, increased cancer risk, and more.

Though the exact extent of microplastic accumulation in the human body isn’t clear, and the huge variety of microplastics adds another layer of difficulty for scientists studying their effects, research suggests that they are linked to reproductive problems, cardiovascular issues, neurological diseases, inflammatory bowel syndrome, and cancer. Terrifyingly, microplastics have been found throughout the human body—including the brain.

Nanoplastics are even smaller, ranging between 1 micrometer and 1 nanometer. They’re even harder to study than microplastics because at such diminutive sizes they’re harder to detect, but research suggests that nanoplastics can penetrate cell membranes and biological barriers, such as the intestinal barrier, blood-air barrier and the blood-brain barrier.

With all these reasons to have plastic pollution on the brain (literally), it’s clear that the world needs a change. Shopping bags, cups and bottles, cutlery, straws and utensils are all examples of single-use plastics that can be replaced with nonplastic alternatives, yet using the plastic versions has become a cultural norm in most places.

Recycling is good, but it’s not enough on its own: According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, only 9% of plastic waste is successfully recycled. Even plastics that are recyclable and get properly placed in recycling bins aren’t always recycled! For example, plastics that are contaminated with food residues end up getting diverted to landfills even if they were collected from recycling bins. It’s clear that we need a bigger cultural and structural change.

Making Change with Tati Besada and Unplastify

If all of this concerns you, you’re not alone. People all over the world are working in ways both big and small to combat plastic pollution. Tati Besada, a National Geographic Explorer and sustainability entrepreneur, was working as the director of a U.S. recycling facility in Brooklyn, New York City, in 2017 when she and her husband decided to sail the Atlantic Ocean back to their native Argentina. Tati wanted to see with her own eyes that even the most remote parts of the Atlantic are polluted with plastic waste. To combat this problem, she founded Unplastify, a social enterprise on a mission to accelerate systemic solutions to minimize the use of disposable plastics, prevent plastic pollution and help restore ocean health.

Unplastifying the world means only using plastics when necessary, replacing other disposable items with nonplastic alternatives, preventing plastic use as much as possible rather than focusing on recycling alone. Unplastify monitors and informs policies to reduce plastic production, measures and helps minimize companies’ plastic footprint by redesigning operations, products and services, and engages and empowers youth to develop their own ideas to unplastify their communities.

Unplastify Your World

Reducing plastic pollution requires cultural and structural change, but you can start with small, simple solutions to reduce your plastic use. Start by noticing how much plastic you dispose of in a day, keeping a journal or downloading an app of your choice to help track your single-use plastic consumption. Notice when, where and why you consume single-use plastic products and brainstorm ways to cut down or even eliminate them. For example, maybe you use plastic utensils at lunch or drink from plastic water bottles; maybe you or your parents use plastic grocery bags when you go shopping. Using your own utensils, switching to a reusable water bottle and shopping with reusable grocery bags are some easy changes you can make to reduce your plastic consumption.

Not all plastic use can be eliminated. For example, in healthcare settings, medical devices or safety equipment may come in single-use plastic packaging to ensure that these items are sterile and safe for use. Some people with disabilities that impact their mobility need flexible plastic straws to reach their drinks. In cases like these, it’s important to recycle and to identify ways to reuse or reduce plastic use (e.g., washing plastic straws for reuse, or only opening sterile medical equipment when the need is clear instead of doing so “just in case”). Unplastifying is not a one-size-fits-all approach, but that’s the beauty of it: You can build your own path forward to unplastifying your world. 

If you’re seeking guidance or community in your effort to reduce single-use plastic consumption and want to get involved with Unplastify, talk to a teacher about joining one of Unplastify’s education programs for youth. Options include Club Unplastify, an immersive and playful experience for ages 12 to 14; the Unplastify Challenge for Schools, a team-based challenge for students ages 15 and 16, and their mentors to develop real solutions for reducing single-use plastic consumption; and the Young Leaders program, a customized mentorship program for outstanding teams that participated in the Unplastify Challenge for Schools.

“I realized that powerful systemic solutions can be powered by anyone: a group of young students can change the relationship of their school with plastic, a team of committed employees can make decisions that reduce the plastic footprint while cutting costs, and any individual can unplastify peoples lives without them even realizing it,” says Tati. “We need to pick one plastic, one community, and one systemic strategy. Then bring your ideas into action. We can all be change-makers.”