New Delhi: Not many of you would know the amount of waste that gets enters our oceans. This is simply mind-boggling! In 2015, some 322 million metric tons of waste was found in the oceans. And most of the waste consists of everyday items like bottles, wrappers, straws and plastic bags.
It is said that the amount of waste keeps growing, and by 2050, the volume of waste could increase by four times the current figure.
According to a report in weforum.org, plastic waste in the ocean frequently appears as seabird guts filled with cigarette lighters and bottle caps, marine mammals entangled in fishing gear and drifting plastic bags mimicking a gelatinous meal. Plastic is creating massive global environmental, economic, and social problems. It ends up polluting the Earth as plastic is very cheap and often used for disposable products.
Each year, more than 13 million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean. It is said that by 2050, there could be more plastic waste in the ocean than fish.
According to the World Economic Forum, besides affecting human health, plastic also poses a serious threat to wildlife. Biologists are increasingly finding dead whales and birds with their stomachs stuffed with plastic debris.
Today, plastics are widely used from food packing to manufacturing industry while they are not life-threatening but they contain chemicals that may not be good for the human health.
The dangers posed by these waste to the living beings on earth, including those in the ocean, is huge, and it is time we find a solution to stop unsafe waste disposal in the ocean.
