plastic wastes, when discarded into the marine environment (Hermabessiere et al.
2017; Vanapalli et al. 2019).
2.1.5 How Plastic Is Getting into Our Environment
The increased use of plastics, has resulted in uncontrolled waste generation, especially
in the developing countries, whose facilities are not able to cope. The availability of
different food items in the plastic bags has become a norm, and a lot of plastics
end-up flushed into the drainage and water system. Figure 2.6 shows the plastic
production by industrial sector, and Fig. 2.7 shows the different forms of plastics
introduced into the environment.
The most amount of polluting plastics recorded is the microplastic, produced
from the weathering of plastics into smaller particles. This makes the management of
plastic becoming more difficult, with the noticeable increase in the amount of
microplastics on the surface of the oceans in the last four decades. The aquatic
organisms can ingest the microplastics, get accumulated in their bodies, help in the
transport of pathogens, and adsorb the toxic substances. Microplastics ingestion
could lead to cancer, retard the reproductive ability, and destroy the immune system.
The contamination of an aquatic environment by the microplastics may pose serious economic consequences, as their removal is difficult, if not impossible due to
their small sizes. The World Economic Forum 2016 postulates that the presence
of plastics as pollutants to be more than the fishes in the aquatic ecosystem, in 2050
(White 2016).
Eunomia Research and Consulting has reported that the production of
microplastics ranges from 0.5 to 1.4 million tons annually, with an average estimate
of 0.95 million tons. The report describes that 94% of plastic ends up on the oceanic
floor at a mean of 70 kg/km
2 of plastics. It is reported that only 1% plastic is found
floating over the ocean, at the concentration of 1 kg/km
2 , with the highest concentration at the North Pacific Gyre at 18 kg/km
2 . The amount is 5 times greater on the
beaches at 2000 kg/km
2 as illustrated in Fig. 2.8.
Table 2.3 Some plastic additives with the functions and hazardous effects (Hermabessiere et al.
2017)
Additives
Functions
Effects
Brominated flame
retardants
Reduce flammability in plastic
Potential endocrine disorders
Phthalates
Plasticizer mainly in polyvinyl chloride Endocrine and developmental
disorders
Nonylphenol
Antioxidant and plasticizer
Endocrine disturbance
Bisphenol A
Synthesis of polycarbonates, plastics,
and epoxy resins
Endocrine disturbance and
estrogen mimic
58
Z. Tahir et al.
2017; Vanapalli et al. 2019).
2.1.5 How Plastic Is Getting into Our Environment
The increased use of plastics, has resulted in uncontrolled waste generation, especially
in the developing countries, whose facilities are not able to cope. The availability of
different food items in the plastic bags has become a norm, and a lot of plastics
end-up flushed into the drainage and water system. Figure 2.6 shows the plastic
production by industrial sector, and Fig. 2.7 shows the different forms of plastics
introduced into the environment.
The most amount of polluting plastics recorded is the microplastic, produced
from the weathering of plastics into smaller particles. This makes the management of
plastic becoming more difficult, with the noticeable increase in the amount of
microplastics on the surface of the oceans in the last four decades. The aquatic
organisms can ingest the microplastics, get accumulated in their bodies, help in the
transport of pathogens, and adsorb the toxic substances. Microplastics ingestion
could lead to cancer, retard the reproductive ability, and destroy the immune system.
The contamination of an aquatic environment by the microplastics may pose serious economic consequences, as their removal is difficult, if not impossible due to
their small sizes. The World Economic Forum 2016 postulates that the presence
of plastics as pollutants to be more than the fishes in the aquatic ecosystem, in 2050
(White 2016).
Eunomia Research and Consulting has reported that the production of
microplastics ranges from 0.5 to 1.4 million tons annually, with an average estimate
of 0.95 million tons. The report describes that 94% of plastic ends up on the oceanic
floor at a mean of 70 kg/km
2 of plastics. It is reported that only 1% plastic is found
floating over the ocean, at the concentration of 1 kg/km
2 , with the highest concentration at the North Pacific Gyre at 18 kg/km
2 . The amount is 5 times greater on the
beaches at 2000 kg/km
2 as illustrated in Fig. 2.8.
Table 2.3 Some plastic additives with the functions and hazardous effects (Hermabessiere et al.
2017)
Additives
Functions
Effects
Brominated flame
retardants
Reduce flammability in plastic
Potential endocrine disorders
Phthalates
Plasticizer mainly in polyvinyl chloride Endocrine and developmental
disorders
Nonylphenol
Antioxidant and plasticizer
Endocrine disturbance
Bisphenol A
Synthesis of polycarbonates, plastics,
and epoxy resins
Endocrine disturbance and
estrogen mimic
58
Z. Tahir et al.