MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION
1. Introduction
Marine plastic pollution is a global menace. There is a need for regular and standardized monitoring of marine litter to understand long-term changes in marine litter pollution and for the successful development and implementation of mitigation strategies.
2. Land-Based Sources
Based on a fixed percentage of the mismanaged plastic waste entering the oceans (15% for the low-range estimates and 40% for the high-range estimates), they estimated that between 4.8 and 12.7x 10⁶ t of plastic entered the global oceans.
3. Ocean-Based Sources
Plastic water can also enter the ocean directly from ocean-based sources such as the fishing industry, commercial and recreational shipping, and offshore platforms.
4. Micro Plastic Survey of India
Under the Coastal Ocean Monitoring and prediction system (COMPAS) programme by ICMAM-PD now the national centre for Ocean Research of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, accumulation of marine debris was reported along the coast of Great Nicobar Island, Andaman. This is the first Indian scientific publication and it is reported that 8% of the total solid waste is produced in plastic waste the top three cities that contribute the most to pollution are Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.
Plastic pollution in India increased by 39.7% and now stands at 9.46 million tonnes of plastic waste per year when five years ago it was 5.7 million tonnes per year. However 15% of the plastic waste produced is recycled in India and the rest is sent to landfills, incinerators or dumped into the oceans and rivers. Rivers contribute to about 67% of the total marine plastic debris in the World.
5. Tamilnadu Coast
Tamilnadu coast has a long coastline but stands second in plastic production in India and the plastic waste reaching through rivers and land run-off and ghost gear dumped cause serious problems to the flora and fauna as well as the livelihood of the fishing communities along the coast. The Government of Tamilnadu banned the usage of Thin plastic (Polymers of thickness below 40 microns).
Thermocol (30.82%), Plastic bags (28.30%), Bottles and Caps (13.84%), straws (12.83%), and food wrappers (8.97%) comprises the majority of microplastic debris.
6. Biodiversity-Gulf of Mannar Biosphere
The Gulf of Mannar is an important biodiversity hotspot as it supports numerous marine ecosystems and provides a sense of economic security for Tamilnadu due to its fisheries resources. Anthropogenic influences on the environment leading to pollution and climate change are the major causes of biodiversity degradation worldwide.
7. Abandoned, Lost or Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG)
Abandoned, Lost or Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) is a serious problem worldwide as there is a lack of data. Most of these wastes are due to shipping or fishing accidents, bad weather etc. and while most of the lost gear is retrieved by the fishers, the little that remains causes serious problems to the marine ecosystem. About 20% of all the plastic debris in the oceans is from ALDFG according to UNEP.
8. Microplastics
- Plastics are made from non-renewable sources such as crude oil and hence they are hard to decompose as the polymers are bonded through covalent bonds, a strong bonding force. Microplastics are about 5mm in diameter and are always disposed into the environment through anthropogenic sources.
- The majority of the plastic debris (~94%) in the Oceans disintegrates into microplastic while the remaining 6% remains as microplastic.
- Microplastics show a high affinity to other toxicants, making them more dangerous to the organisms ingesting them.
- Calculating the amount of microplastic entering the ocean can be challenging as they are small and the rate at which plastics degrade is unknown. The large discharge causes harm to the natural ecosystems and inevitably affects humans too.
- Under the Marine plastics survey programme of NCCR, the distribution of microplastics was studied in Coastal locations in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea in particular along the international waters.
- The most dominant type of microplastics found in the water column is microfiber/lines. The major types of polymers identified in the study are Polypropylene (PP), High-Density Polythene (HDPE), Low-Density Polythene (LDPH) and Poly(amide-6) (Nylon).
- One of the main plastics, polyethene terephthalate (PET) is found in clothes and when these clothes are washed small plastics known as Microplastics are released.
9.Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar
Commemorating the 75th year of India’s Independence, a coastal cleanup drive was carried out at 75 beaches across the country for 75 days over a 7500 km long coastline. This unique first-ever national campaign culminated on “International Coastal Cleanup Day” on 17 September 2022. This drive was aimed to remove 1500 tonnes of garbage from the sea coast which will be a huge relief to marine life and the people staying in coastal areas.
10. Discussion
The biodiversity of India is unique, and steps must be taken to ensure its safety. Plastic pollution is a concerning issue as consumption and discharge have increased but no steps have been taken by India to study, monitor and reduce plastic usage. While the petrochemical sector is the backbone of plastic production, it is also considered a yardstick for measuring global growth; where plastic processing and production are of vital importance.
