What are the short term effects of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and plastic pollution generally, is killing marine life. 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals are affected every year, as well as many other species. For example, turtles often mistake plastic bags for prey such as jellyfish.

What are the long term effects of plastic waste?

Long term usage and exposure of plastics and plastic products to high temperature can lead to leaching of toxic chemical constituents into food, drinks and water. Indiscriminate disposal of plastics on land and open air burning can lead to the release of toxic chemicals into the air causing public health hazards.

What are the long term effects of ocean dumping?

Long-term effects can include reproductive system failure, behavioral changes, cancer, and death. When oil is spilled into the ocean, it sits on the water surface and keeps the sunlight from getting to marine plants affecting the photosynthesis process.

What are the long term effects of plastics in the ocean?

Impacts on marine ecosystems The most visible impacts of plastic debris are the ingestion, suffocation and entanglement of hundreds of marine species. Marine wildlife such as seabirds, whales, fish and turtles mistake plastic waste for prey; most then die of starvation as their stomachs become filled with plastic.

What are the harmful effects of plastic pollution?

Plastic production and consumption contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, devalues marine ecosystems, and chokes the wildlife that makes our oceans so diverse. The good news is that people across the world are taking action to combat plastic pollution in their own ways, and you can too!

What are the 3 worst effects of plastic pollution?

Serious Effects of Plastic Pollution

• Negative Effects on Human Health. We eat plastic-contaminated seafood.
• It Upsets the Food Chain.
• Groundwater Pollution.
• Land Pollution.
• Air Pollution.
• It Kills Animals.
• It is Poisonous.
• Cleaning Plastic is Expensive.

How does waste affect marine life?

Fish, seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals can become entangled in or ingest plastic debris, causing suffocation, starvation, and drowning. Plastic waste kills up to a million seabirds a year. As with sea turtles, when seabirds ingest plastic, it takes up room in their stomachs, sometimes causing starvation.

How does plastic negatively affect humans?

Plastic affects human health. Toxic chemicals leach out of plastic and are found in the blood and tissue of nearly all of us. Exposure to them is linked to cancers, birth defects, impaired immunity, endocrine disruption and other ailments.

What are harmful effects of plastic?

Chemicals in plastic-like lead, cadmium and mercury directly can come in contact with the humans. These toxins can cause cancers, congenital disabilities, immune system problems and childhood development issues. The other toxins like BPA or health-bisphenol-A are found in plastic bottles and food packaging materials.

How does plastic waste affect humans?

Microplastics entering the human body via direct exposures through ingestion or inhalation can lead to an array of health impacts, including inflammation, genotoxicity, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and necrosis, which are linked to an array of negative health outcomes including cancer, cardiovascular diseases.

What are the effects of plastic pollution?

Plastics pollution has a direct and deadly effect on wildlife. Thousands of seabirds and sea turtles, seals and other marine mammals are killed each year after ingesting plastic or getting entangled in it.