Ocean Pollution Research Paper

Across the world, animals are dying with stomachs full of plastic, beaches look like landfills, and there are giant masses of trash in our oceans larger than cities. The cause of this is humankind’s careless dumping of plastic and trash into the oceans for years, and it is starting to take a toll. If we do not act fast, we may reach a time when fish and plastic are equally abundant in the ocean. Pollution is the action of polluting, especially by environmental contamination with man-made waste. Humans are polluting our oceans with debris, waste, and plastics. This occurs everywhere in the world, but the most waste comes from China, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam due to their lacking waste control systems. The oceans are polluted …show more content…
Waste that is not being disposed of efficiently or correctly is ending up in oceans. According to Fortune Magazine, underdeveloped waste infrastructures in countries such as China, Indonesia, and Thailand contribute more than half of the oceans’ plastic pollution. Since the waste systems in certain countries are not suited for the amount of waste that is being produced, the waste has nowhere to go but the ocean. Ocean pollution is caused in part by people leaving trash sitting around, which eventually blows into the oceans, and not effectively recycling their plastic. According to USA Today, only 5 percent of the world’s plastics are effectively recycled. Also, if you look on most any beach in the world, you will find pieces of plastic or trash sitting on it somewhere. Since only a small percentage of plastics are recycled efficiently, the more plastic gets into the oceans and since people litter and throw their trash on the streets and beaches, it will blow around from the wind and eventually end up going into the ocean. Plastic pellets, shards, bags, and any other products made of plastic are destructive to animals’ digestive systems and even perforate their intestines or choke them. According to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, seabirds mistake plastic pellets for food and feed them to their young. Also, animals who eat plastic bags have their intestines clogged, so therefore they choke or starve to death. Due to the rising levels of plastic in the ocean, animals are more prone to finding plastic in their environments and feeding it to their young, causing them to starve to death. When plastic breaks down into tiny particles, and is consumed by tiny animals at the bottom of the food chain, they absorb it. Once they are eaten, it travels up the food chain until it reaches creatures that humans catch and consume. This endangers the global seafood industry and human health. According

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