Each year over , dolphins, fish, whales, turtles, and more drown after becoming entangled in or digesting plastic litter. Improperly discarded trash is a breeding ground for bacteria and diseases. Litter can spread diseases, viruses, and parasites through two methods , direct and indirect contact. Germs can be transmitted directly by physically coming into contact with litter. This can happen by picking up, touching, or by accidentally injuring themselves on improperly disposed of trash.
Bacteria and parasites can also be transmitted to humans indirectly through an affected vector. Vectors are animals or insects that come in contact with contaminated litter and then transmit those contaminates to humans. Here are three ways we can fight back against litter today. Take a proactive approach to stop littering by attending organized cleanups. Working to clean up your community is not only beneficial to the environment but will make your community beautiful. Check out these clean-up groups on Meetup to find an organized litter walk in your community.
Take Action. Nothing we use for a few minutes should be allowed to pollute our oceans and rivers and threaten wildlife for centuries. A costly mistake. Pollution that lasts for hundreds of years. States putting Wildlife Over Waste. Moving beyond plastic pollution. Make sure to wash out your cans, bottles and other recyclables thoroughly before disposing of them. This will help to remove some of the scent caused from food residue. This will prevent small animals like mice from crawling in. Put lids back on plastic containers and jars once they are rinsed and ready to be recycled.
Cut up plastic six pack rings before recycling them. Tie a knot in the middle of any plastic bags you are recycling. Take any leftover household cleaning products and other toxic chemicals to the Eco Station. Refrain from releasing balloons at events, which can cause deadly wildlife entanglement or ingestion.
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View more blogs. Sign up for E-news! This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Volunteer portal. Contact Info. As debris accumulates, habitat structure may be modified, light levels may be reduced in underlying waters, and oxygen levels may be depleted.
These changes can undermine the ability of open water and benthic habitats to support aquatic life. As benthic habitat-forming species decline and as the physical structure of the habitats are modified, there may be indirect impacts of marine debris such as declines in species that are dependent on these habitats for foraging and shelter. For example, degradation of coral reefs globally has the potential to undermine the survival of a diverse array of invertebrates, fish, and vertebrates that depend on this limited resource, including many threatened and endangered species.
Chemical impacts associated with plastic aquatic trash include the accumulation and transport of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic PBTs contaminants, such as PCBs and pesticides. PBT substances are chemical compounds that are resistant to degradation breaking down , are highly mobile in the environment and exhibit a high degree of toxicity. Aquatic plastic debris has been found to accumulate contaminants at concentrations that are orders of magnitude thousands to millions of times greater than the surrounding environment.
Based on a number of studies, including those conducted by EPA, plastics have the potential to adsorb chemicals of concern from the environment, and serve as a potential global transport mechanism for contaminants of concern into the food chain and potentially to humans who eat seafoods. Contaminants accumulated on the surface of plastic particles as well as those within the plastic can be released to the environment when the plastics break down into smaller particles as a result of ultraviolet UV radiation, mechanical forces, and weathering.
Evidence is adding up that plastic debris, including resin pellets and fragments, transfer PBTs to organisms when consumed. For example, the accumulation of PBTs from plastics has been documented in seabirds and benthic organisms. In a study by Ryan et al , great shearwaters Puffinus gravis , a seabird known to ingest plastic, had PCB concentrations in fat tissues corresponding to the amounts of plastic found in their stomachs.
There is a substantial body of evidence documenting the harmful effects of aquatic plastic debris on river and marine organisms. The most common threats to wildlife include both physical hazards from ingestion and entanglement, and toxicological threats from ingestion of contaminants attached to and trapped within plastic particles.
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