The term marine debris encompasses more than plastic, including metals (derelict vessels, dumped vehicles, beverage containers), glass (light bulbs, beverage containers, older fishing floats), and other materials (rubber, textiles, lumber). Plastic certainly makes up the majority of floating litter, but in some areas the debris on the ocean floor may contain sizeable amounts of those other denser types.
Published in Chapter:
Plastic Pollution and the Ecological Impact on the Aquatic Ecosystem
Irfan Rashid Sofi (Jiwaji University, India), Javid Manzoor (Jiwaji University, India), Rayees Ahmad Bhat (Government Adarsh Science College, India), and Rafiya Munvar (Jiwaji University, India)
Copyright: © 2020
|Pages: 14
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-9452-9.ch005
Abstract
Plastic pollution in the environment is currently receiving worldwide attention. Improper dumping of disused or abandoned plastic wastes leads to contamination of the environment. Contamination by bulk plastics and plastic debris is currently the one of the most serious problems in aquatic ecosystems. In particular, small-scale plastic debris such as microplastics and nanoplastics has become a leading contributor to the pollution of marine and freshwater ecosystems. Over 300 million tons of plastic is produced annually, and around 75% of all marine litter is plastic. Plastic litter is widespread in aquatic ecosystems and comes from a variety of sources. The abundance of plastics, combined with their small size and subsequent association with plankton in the water column, allows for direct ingestion by aquatic biota at different trophic levels.