Marine Debris: A Global Crisis of Plastic Pollution

Marine debris, primarily plastic, has in recent years been recognized as a global, transboundary problem affecting the marine environment and even human health.
Plastic, including microplastics, is now found everywhere and has become part of the Earth’s fossil record.

Plastic constitutes about 85% of total marine waste and is also the most harmful and persistent.
The world has realized that “business as usual” is not sustainable.
The United Nations Environment Programme established an expert panel that recently published a report summarizing current knowledge, providing a global assessment of the scale of marine debris, its environmental, economic, and social implications, and examining possible solutions.

Key Findings from the Expert Report As plastic breaks down in the marine environment, microplastics, toxic chemicals, metals, and pollutants enter the water and sediments and eventually the marine food chains.
Losses of marine natural capital due to plastic pollution are estimated at 2,500 billion USD per year, while the global plastic market in 2020 was valued at approximately 580 billion USD.
Marine Debris and Plastic as Risk Multipliers The multiple risks from marine debris and plastic make them risk multipliers when combined with climate change and overexploitation of marine resources.

For example, damage to marine ecosystems affects local food production, and damage to natural coastal structures reduces coastal resilience to extreme events and climate change.
Main Source of Marine Debris About 85% of plastics entering the ocean come from land.
Of the 9.2 billion tons of plastic estimated to have been produced between 1950 and 2017, approximately 7 billion tons became plastic waste.

Extreme events, such as floods, storms, and tsunamis, transfer significant volumes of waste to oceans from coastlines, riverbanks, and estuaries.
The accumulated plastic on Earth is expected to reach 34 billion tons by 2050, making it urgent to reduce global plastic production and prevent waste from entering the environment and oceans. Plastic and Microplastic as Health Risks Recent studies show that exposure to microplastics and substances related to plastic production causes health problems.

Many plastic-related chemicals disrupt hormonal activity or are defined as hazardous substances.
In addition, marine debris may discourage people from visiting beaches and benefiting from physical activity and social interaction, which improve physical and mental health.
Marine debris collected during underwater cleanups by volunteer divers as part of an international beach cleanup day mixes with algae on the sea floor.

Volunteers sort the debris to collect data on the types of waste reaching the seabed, to monitor trends over time, and to contribute to a global marine debris database.
Floating plastic accumulates in mid-ocean gyres, while heavier items sink to the deep sea floor. Several growing debris hotspots exist today, with potential long-term risks for ecosystems and human health.

One such hotspot is the Mediterranean, where large quantities of debris accumulate due to the enclosed nature of the basin.
Monitoring of marine debris has increased, but measurements are inconsistent.
In recent years, significant improvements have been made in the efficiency of global observation systems and surveys, and costs have decreased.

There are 15 major programs coordinating marine debris monitoring and data collection, alongside citizen science projects.
Large sums are invested in waste management, yet only a small fraction of plastic is recycled.
Losses from sorting and processing plastic packaging waste are estimated at 80-120 billion USD per year.

Nevertheless, the global plastic recycling rate is currently less than 10%.
Efforts to reduce plastic are taking place at all levels, and viable solutions are approaching.
Many organizations and large companies work to reduce waste reaching landfills regulatory processes are expanding, driven by growing public pressure, and activism and governmental actions are increasing.

Several international commitments exist to reduce marine debris and plastic pollution, but none include a binding, specific, measurable global target.
A single-solution strategy is insufficient to reduce plastics entering the oceans.
Solutions require a combination of measures improving plastic quality and recycling to produce high-quality recycled products, phasing out unnecessary products, taxing single-use products and introducing deposit-return schemes to encourage reuse, changing consumption habits, expanding producer responsibility, removing subsidies on virgin plastic, developing products using green chemistry principles, eco-design for reuse, and promoting a circular economy.

The expert report calls for a more holistic approach, greater ambition and commitment, reflected in global policy and measurable reduction targets tailored to each country’s characteristics, as well as implementation measures, particularly financial ones, and monitoring mechanisms.
The blue economy has enormous potential.

Marine ecosystem services are currently valued at 2.5 trillion USD per year and provide employment to over 31 million workers.
However, urgent global action is required to protect oceans from the pressures of marine debris, especially plastic and microplastic.
The solution is complex but known.
The time has come to change humanity’s relationship with the marine environment, and nature in general, collectively.