Around the world, plastic pollution has become a growing plague, clogging our

waterways, damaging marine ecosystems, and entering the marine food web. Much
of the plastic trash we generate on land flows into our oceans through storm drains
and watersheds. It falls from garbage and container trucks, spills out of trashcans, or
is tossed carelessly.

In 2012, it was estimated that there was approximately 165 million tons of plastic
pollution in the world's oceans.

In the oceans, some plastics like Polystyrene sink, while foamed plastics float on
the oceans surface. Sunlight and wave action cause these floating plastics to
fragment, breaking into increasingly smaller particles. This plastic pollution is
becoming a hazard for marine wildlife, and ultimately for us.

Effects on Animals

Plastic pollution has the potential to poison animals, which can then adversely affect
human food supplies. Plastic pollution has been described as being highly
detrimental to large marine mammals. Some marine species, such as sea turtles,
have been found to contain large proportions of plastics in their stomach.

Entanglement

Entanglement in plastic debris has been responsible for the deaths of many marine
organisms, such as fish, seals, turtles, and birds. These animals get caught in the
debris and end up suffocating or drowning. Because they are unable to untangle
themselves, they also die from starvation or from their inability to escape predators.
In a 2006 it was estimated that at least 267 different animal species have suffered
from entanglement.

Ingestion

44% of all seabird species, 22% of Cetaceans, all sea turtle species, and a growing
list of fish species have been documented with plastic in or around their bodies.
When marine animals consume plastic trash, presumably mistaking it for food, this
can lead to internal blockages, dehydration, starvation, and potentially death.

How Plastics are Harmful?

Human health hazard
Phthalates, a chemical used to make plastics pliable, may have hormone
disrupting effects on unborn baby boys; also linked to obesity and diabetes in
men ( CBC News (2008), URMC Press(2007))
Enters food chain as it is ingested by sea and land animals
Plastics in land fills emit greenhouse gases which trap heat and contribute to
Global Warming (GW)

Birds and turtles are killed every year from plastic bag litter in the
aquatic environment as they often mistake plastic bags for food.

Plastic bags, once ingested, cannot be digested or passed by an animal

so it stays in the gut.

Plastic in an animals gut can prevent food digestion and can lead to a
very slow and painful death.

Plastic bags kill animals

About 100,000 animals such as dolphins, turtles whales, penguins are killed
every year due to plastic bags. Many animals ingest plastic bags, mistaking
them for food, and therefore die. And worse, the ingested plastic bag remains
intact even after the death and decomposition of the animal. Thus, it lies
around in the landscape where another victim may ingest it.
PLASTICS EFFECT ON HUMAN LIFE
Plastic plays the villain right from the stage of its production. The major
chemicals that go into the making of plastic are highly toxic and pose
serious threat to living beings of all species on earth.
Some of the constituents of plastic such as benzene are known to cause
cancer. Plastic resins themselves are flammable and have contributed
considerably to several accidents worldwide.
Once plastic is produced, the harm is done once and for all. Plastic defies
any kind of attempt at disposal be it through recycling, burning, or
landfilling.
When you recycle a hazard, you create a hazard.

Recycling of plastic is associated with skin and respiratory problems,

resulting from exposure to and inhalation of toxic fumes, especially
hydrocarbons and residues released during the process.

Plastic pollution can unfavorably affect lands, waterways and oceans. Living organisms,
particularly marine animals, can also be affected through entanglement, direct ingestion of plastic
waste, or through exposure to chemicals within plastics that cause interruptions in biological
functions. Humans are also affected by plastic pollution, such as through the disruption of
the thyroid hormone axis or hormone levels.

Effects on animals[edit]

Plastic pollution has the potential to poison animals, which can then adversely affect human food
supplies.[17][18] Plastic pollution has been described as being highly detrimental to large marine
mammals, described in the book Introduction to Marine Biology as posing the "single greatest
threat" to them.[19] Some marine species, such as sea turtles, have been found to contain large
proportions of plastics in their stomach.[17] When this occurs, the animal typically starves, because
the plastic blocks the animal's digestive tract.[17]Marine mammals sometimes become entangled in
plastic products such as nets, which can harm or kill them.[17]

Entanglement[edit]

Sea turtle entangled in a ghost net

Entanglement in plastic debris has been responsible for the deaths of many marine organisms,
such as fish, seals, turtles, and birds. These animals get caught in the debris and end up
suffocating or drowning. Because they are unable to untangle themselves, they also die from
starvation or from their inability to escape predators.[2] Being entangled also often results in severe
lacerations and ulcers. In a 2006 report known as Plastic Debris in the Worlds Oceans, it was
estimated that at least 267 different animal species have suffered from entanglement and
ingestion of plastic debris.[4] It has been estimated that over 400,000 marine mammals perish
annually due to plastic pollution in oceans.[17] Marine organisms get caught in discarded fishing
equipment, such as ghost nets. Ropes and nets used to fish are often made of synthetic materials
such as nylon, making fishing equipment more durable and buoyant. These organisms can also
get caught in circular plastic packaging materials, and if the animal continues to grow in size, the
plastic can cut into their flesh. Equipment such as nets can also drag along the seabed, causing
damage to coral reefs.[20]

Ingestion[edit]
Marine animals[edit]
Sea turtles are affected by plastic pollution. Some species are consumers of jelly fish, but often
mistake plastic bags for their natural prey. This plastic debris can kill the sea turtle by obstructing
the esophagus.[20] So too are whales; large amounts of plastics have been found in the stomachs
of beached whales[20]
Some of the tiniest bits of plastic are being consumed by small fish, in a part of the pelagic zone in
the ocean called the Mesopelagic zone, which is 200 to 1000 metres below the ocean surface,
and completely dark. Not much is known about these fish, other than that there are many of them.
They hide in the darkness of the ocean, avoiding predators and then swimming to the ocean's
surface at night to feed.[21] Plastics found in the stomachs of these fish were collected
during Malaspina's circumnavigation, a research project that studies the impact of global change
on the oceans.[22] The most popular mesopelagic fish is thelantern fish. It resides in the
central ocean gyres, a large system of rotating ocean currents. Since lantern fish serve as a
primary food source for the fish that consumers purchase, including tuna and swordfish, the
plastics they ingest become part of the food chain. The lantern fish is one of the main bait fish in
the ocean, and it eats large amounts of plastic fragments, which in turn will not make them
nutritious enough for other fish to consume.[23]
Birds[edit]
Plastic pollution does not only affect animals that live solely in oceans. Seabirds are also greatly
affected. In 2004, it was estimated that seagulls in the North Sea had an average of thirty pieces
of plastic in their stomachs.[24] Seabird's often mistake trash floating on the ocean's surface as
prey. Their food sources often has already ingested plastic debris, thus transferring the plastic
from prey to predator. Ingested trash can obstruct and physically damage a birds digestive
system, reducing its digestive ability and can lead to malnutrition, starvation, and death. Toxic
chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) also become concentrated on the surface of
plastics at sea and are released after seabirds eat them. These chemicals can accumulate in body
tissues and have serious lethal effects on a bird's reproductive ability, immune system, and
hormone balance. Floating plastic debris can produce ulcers, infections and lead to death. Marine

plastic pollution can even reach birds that have never been at the sea. Parents may accidentally
feed their nestlings plastic, mistaking it for food.[25] Seabird chicks are the most vulnerable to plastic
ingestion since they can't regurgitate like the adult seabirds. [26]
After the initial observation that many of the beaches in New Zealand had high concentrations of
plastic pellets, further studies found that different species of prion ingest the plastic debris. Hungry
prions mistook these pellets for food, and these particles were found intact within the
birds' gizzards and proventriculi. Pecking marks similar to those made by northern
fulmars in cuttlebones have been found in plastic debris, such as styrofoam, on the beaches on
the Dutch coast, showing that this species of bird also mistakes plastic debris for food. [20]
An estimate of 1.5 million Laysan albatrosses, which inhabit Midway Atoll, all have plastics in their
digestive system. Midway Atoll is halfway between Asia and North America, and north of
the Hawaiian archipelago. Its a remote location, and the plastic blockage has proven deadly to
these birds. These seabirds choose red, pink, brown and blue plastic pieces because of the
similarities they share with their natural food source. On the shore, thousands of birds corpses can
be seen with plastic remaining where the stomach once was. The durability of the plastics is
visible amongst the remains. In some instances, the plastic piles are still present while the bird's
corpse has decayed.[4] As a result of plastic ingestion, the digestive tract can be blocked resulting
in starvation. The windpipe can also be blocked, which results in suffocation. [4] The debris can also
accumulate in the animals gut, and give them a false sense of fullness which would also result in
starvation.

Effects on animals[edit]
Similar to humans, animals exposed to plasticizers can experience developmental defects.
Specifically, sheep have been found to have lower birth weights when prenatally exposed to
bisphenol A. Exposure to BPA can shorten the distance between the eyes of a tadpole. It can also
stall development in frogs and can result in a decrease in body length. In different species of fish,
exposure can stall egg hatching and result in a decrease in body weight, tail length, and body
length.[5]

Effects on humans[edit]
Due to the use of chemical additives during plastic production, plastics have potentially harmful
effects that could prove to be carcinogenic or promote endocrine disruption. Some of the additives
are used as phthalate plasticizers and brominated flame retardants.[6] Through biomonitoring,
chemicals in plastics, such as BPA and phthalates, have been identified in the human population.
Humans can be exposed to these chemicals through the nose, mouth, or skin. Although the level
of exposure varies depending on age and geography, most humans experience simultaneous
exposure to many of these chemicals. Average levels of daily exposure are below the levels
deemed to be safe, but more research needs to be done on the effects of low dose exposure on
humans.[27] A lot is unknown on how severely humans are physically affected by these chemicals.
Some of the chemicals used in plastic production can cause dermatitis upon contact with human
skin.[28] In many plastics, these toxic chemicals are only used in trace amounts, but significant
testing is often required to ensure that the toxic elements are contained within the plastic by inert
material or polymer.[28]
It can also affect humans in which it may create an eyesore that interferes with enjoyment of
the natural environment.[29]

Chocked drains cause flooding during monsoons. Plastic debrises clog the sewage drains and
create stagnant water which will be an ideal habitat for mosquitoes and other parasites. On
leaching in water, plastic can easily enter the human food chain and harm human health.Plastics
wastes dumped in water courses contaminate and poisons freshwater life.
29. Effects of plastics on marine life include the entanglement and ingestion of plastic debris by
marine vertebrates .Over a million sea birds and mammals die annually from ingestion of plastics.
Plastic is mistaken for food and is eaten up by birds, turtles, seals, and whales. This may choke
them, poison them or impede digestion and causing starvation.
30. Marine turtles become entangled in discardednets and were found dead with plastic garbage
bags in the stomach. Some marine mammals swallow plastic bags, which resemble jelly fish in
sea water .About 44% of sea birds eat plastics mistaken for food leading to suffocation or blockage
of digestive tracts and eventually death.
31. Toxic chemicals contained in plastics cause neurological problems, cancer, birth defects,
hormonal changes gastric ulcer, thyroid problems and cardiovascular disease. The endocrine
disrupting chemicals(EDCs) in plastics have been contributing to obesity and diabetes. The plastic
bottles may leach cancer-causing chemicals such as phthalates (a component makes plastic
pliable) and Bi s-phenol A ( a component harden plastic).Bi s-phenol A(BPA) a synthetic estrogen,
can affect the hearts of women and can permanently damage DNA of mice
.

Plastics Can Cause Fertility and Reproductive Problems

plastics contain toxic chemicals that have a negative effect on immunity and hormone
regulation, both of which directly affect fertility.

Chemicals in Plastic Can Lead To Obesity

chemicals can reprogram your metabolism and make it more likely for you to store calories
instead of passing them through.
plastics are in most cases made from petrochemicals through an energy-intensive process
that itself creates lots of pollution and toxic discharge. The fact is, every plastic container you
use is making the planet less habitable.

This June 2012 photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a tufted puffin on Prince
William Sound, Alaska. The number of seabirds, including gulls, puffins and auklets, has dropped
significantly in the Gulf of Alaska and northeast Bering Sea, a possible consequence of warmer waters,
according to a preliminary federal analysis of nearly 40 years of surveys. U.S. Geological Survey
experts found the seabird population density declined 2 percent annually from 1975 to 2012 in the
northeast North Pacific.Photo/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, David Irons)