Abbing, M. R. (2019, April 6). How microplastic particles are turning the oceans into plastic soup.
Retrieved from https://www.greenbiz.com/article/how-microplastic-particles-are-
turning-oceans-plastic-soup
A lot of plastics end up in the ocean, but they don’t easily degrade. They just break down into smaller and smaller pieces. Recently when scientists tried measuring the amount of plastic in certain areas, they found that millions of tons had gone missing. They attributed this to the breakdown of plastic into the ocean and the sun’s UV rays weakening the chemical bonds within plastic. A majority of the plastic they collected were smaller pieces measuring millimeters in size. They found that zooplankton, fish, crab, and shellfish eat the microplastics which allows it to enter the food chain.
This article did a great job at explaining the science behind microplastics and how plastic starts out as a complete piece but then breaks down over time into smaller bits through UV rays. It was really interesting to read how the microplastics get eaten by smaller organisms and then end up in the food we eat. This was also very sad, because it mentions how animals die from eating all these plastics. It is also disheartening to learn that it is really hard to remove these microplastics as they are really small. This brings up the question of how to get rid of the plastic waste before it lands in the ocean and kills our ecosystem.
It’s disheartening to see that there are many organizations who are bringing awareness through social media about this topic and there has been some major changes but it’s there isn’t an immediate change for marine animals. It’s sad that this wasn’t stopped before it got to this extent.
Is there something you would do to reduce the amount of plastic you use?
This is a very interesting article, It is very interesting that the plastic is able to break down, that fish are consuming it and putting it back into the food chain. I agree with you this is really sad that animals are consuming the plastic, that we then later consume, which is kinda scary. Do you think there is a way to prevent plastic from getting into the ocean?
This article gave me a better idea of what happens with the plastic and how it breaks down to get eaten by fish in the water which is later passed down to us. Do you think that if more people were to learn about the break down process of what happens to the plastic once it gets to the ocean will make people rethink their use in plastic?