About the report: The report is released by UN Environment Programme (UNEP) titled “From Pollution to Solution: a global assessment of marine litter and plastic pollution”.
key findings of the report:
- Emissions of plastic waste- The amount of marine litter and plastic pollution has been growing rapidly.
- Emissions of plastic waste into aquatic ecosystems are projected to nearly triple to a projected 23-37 million tons per year by 2040 without meaningful action.
- Sources of marine litter- The main sources are land-based. Approximately 7,000 million of the estimated 9,200 million tonnes of cumulative plastic production between 1950 and 2017 became plastic waste.
- Threat it poses to all marine life- Plastics accounts for at least 85% of total marine waste, due to which all marine life faces the grave risk of toxification, behavioral disorder, starvation and suffocation.
- Threat it poses to climate- Plastics can also alter global carbon cycling through their effect on plankton and primary production in marine, freshwater and terrestrial systems.
- Marine ecosystems, especially mangroves, seagrasses, corals and salt marshes, play a major role in sequestering carbon. The more damage we do to oceans and coastal areas, the harder it is for these ecosystems to both offset and remain resilient to climate change.
- Human health and well-being are at risk- It arises from
- the open burning of plastic waste;
- ingestion of seafood contaminated with plastics;
- exposure to pathogenic bacteria transported on plastics;
- leaching out of substances of concern to coastal waters.
- Hidden costs for the global economy- The economic costs of marine plastic pollution due to its impacts on tourism, fisheries and aquaculture(livelihood), and cleanups, are estimated to be (US$) 6-19 billion globally in 2018.
- Also it poses serious threats to shipping and port operations.
- Recycling of Plastic Waste-Of the 7 billion tonnes of plastic waste generated so far, an estimated 10% was recycled, 14% incinerated and the remaining 76% went into landfills, dumps and litter in the natural environment.
