Oceans are an essential component of the Earth’s global ecosystem and play an instrumental role in the survival of all organisms on the planet, including humans. Oceans host 80% of the planet's biodiversity and are crucial to help regulate the climate and weather patterns. (8) They are also a key source of food - fisheries and aquaculture employ and support the livelihoods of millions of people around the world.

However, human activities - including the pollution that these generate - are threatening the oceans’ health. Any disruption to a marine species can trigger a chain reaction that affects other species; this is because of the interconnected nature of the various food webs supported by the oceans. It is crucial for human survival to conserve and protect ocean ecosystems and biodiversity - and reducing plastic pollution is vital in order to achieve this. (8)

Photo source: ead72/Adobe Stock

Water is uniquely vulnerable to pollution because it is known as the “universal solvent”: it can dissolve more substances than any other liquid. (1) For this reason, toxic substances can easily dissolve into water and mix with it, leading to water pollution and the degradation of the quality of water. Water pollution not only disrupts aquatic ecosystems; the pollutants can seep through and reach the groundwater, which might end up then in our households as contaminated water. (1) Our drinking water sources are finite, as less than 1% of the Earth’s water is actually accessible to us. Without any action, the challenges surrounding global access to water will become worse by 2050, by which time the global demand for freshwater is expected to increase by 30%. (3)

Photo source: Aurora Photos/Alamy

Water pollution can be caused in various ways. Indirect sources of water pollution such as agricultural practices can leak contaminants into the water supply through the soil or groundwater systems. Groundwater is the water beneath the Earth’s surface and is one of the least viable but most important natural water sources. Groundwater can become polluted by contaminants such as pesticides and fertilizers used in agriculture, and waste from landfills. Contaminated groundwater can spread from the original polluting source to streams, lakes and oceans. (3)

About 80% of ocean pollution is generated from land-based sources, whether along the coast or far inland. (4) Contaminants including chemicals and nutrients are carried from factories and cities by streams and rivers, and even the wind, and then travel out to the sea. Water pollution cannot be contained, which results in transboundary pollution - contaminated water from one country spilling into the waters of another. (3) This contamination can be the result of an oil spill, industrial or agricultural waste, or plastic pollution.

Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental challenges and ecological threats of our time. The rapid production of plastic products is overwhelming the environment's ability to deal with them. Every year, about 8 million tonnes of plastic waste end up in the oceans. (5) As plastics are durable and resistant to degradation, they can take about 400 years to break down fully, whether in a river or an ocean. Scientists warn that if the consumption and disposal of plastic continue to grow at the current pace, the oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050. (6)

Once plastic waste is in the ocean, it is almost impossible to retrieve it. This is because plastics break down into microplastics and drift through the currents in the open ocean. Large amounts of this plastic drift to the ocean garbage patches because of the waves and get caught in the circulating currents. This accumulation of plastic waste in the oceans will increasingly impact marine life and human health, if no action is taken. The only solution is to prevent plastic waste from entering rivers and oceans in the first place.

Photo source: UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

Plastic waste severely affects marine ecosystems. Animals such as seals and whales can get entangled in it and suffocate, drown, or become an easier target for predators. Once in the ocean, the sunlight, wind and waves also break down plastic into tiny particles called microplastics. Marine animals such as turtles and dolphins mistake these small plastic fragments for food, which frequently ends up killing them. Microplastics have been found inside over 100 aquatic species, including fish and shrimp, which then contaminates our food chains. (7)

You can read more about how to reduce plastic waste’s impact on the oceans here: National Geographic

Photo source: Friends of the Earth

Oceans are an essential component of the Earth’s global ecosystem and play an instrumental role in the survival of all organisms on the planet, including humans. Oceans host 80% of the planet's biodiversity and are crucial to help regulate the climate and weather patterns. (8) They are also a key source of food - fisheries and aquaculture employ and support the livelihoods of millions of people around the world.

However, human activities - including the pollution that these generate - are threatening the oceans’ health. Any disruption to a marine species can trigger a chain reaction that affects other species; this is because of the interconnected nature of the various food webs supported by the oceans. It is crucial for human survival to conserve and protect ocean ecosystems and biodiversity - and reducing plastic pollution is vital in order to achieve this. (8)

Photo source: ead72/Adobe Stock