Plastic Facts
What is Plastic Pollution ?
It’s plastic where it shouldn’t be. It’s in the sea and on the beach and it’s causing harm. We’re using more plastic than ever, it’s durable, cheap to produce and we’re consuming it at staggering rates. Current estimates show that at last 8 million pieces of plastic are entering the oceans every single day.
How does it get in the sea?
Two-thirds of pollution comes straight from land based sources: litter being left on the beach or washed down rivers and drains from litter being dropped in towns and cities. It comes from industry spills, badly managed landfill sites and bins near the coast or by being flushed down the loo. The remainder is lost at sea such as containers going overboard or lost fishing gear.
How much plastic pollution is there?
On a global scale, there is approximately 51 trillion microscopic pieces of plastic, weighing 269,000 tons. That is about the same as 1345 adult blue whales. And 500 times the number of stars in our galaxy. We know which we would rather see.
Making a difference
After lots of hard work, in December 2019, Eastbourne was proudly awarded the status of being a 'Plastic Free Community'. But it doesn't stop there, by joining us in our mission to raise awareness, change people's behaviours and habits over single use plastic, help keep our beaches and parks clean, we can make an even bigger difference.
How long does plastic last?
As we know, plastic is strong, flexible and durable making it extremely useful, however that also means it never really breaks down. A plastic bottle can last for 450 years in the marine environment, slowly fragmenting into smaller and smaller pieces which eventually end up microscopic but never truly go away. This means that every piece of plastic that has ever been produced is still with us, in some form. Yuck!
What harm does plastic pollution do to the environment?
For wildlife such as fish, dolphins, seabirds and seals it can be deadly as they become entangled or mistake it for food. An example of this... a Cuvier’s beaked whale was found malnourished and dying off the coast of Norway. Experts had to put the animal down as it was in such poor condition and the autopsy showed a terrifying 30 plasic bags and a large amount of plastic packaging with labels in Danish and English in its stomach and intestines, causing bloackages and pain.
Balloons are considered so damaging to the environment. Beach litter surveys have shown the amount of balloons and balloon pieces found on the beach have tripled in the past 10 years. A recent report has ranked balloons as one of the top three deadliest forms of litter, only behind discarded fishing nets and plastic bags. That’s because when balloons burst, the fragments can look very similar to jellyfish or other prey that animals like sea turtles eat. The ribbons can also become wrapped around animals as they swim in the water, which may hinder their ability to move or eat freely.
It doesn’t affect me directly though does it?
With 1 in 3 fish caught for human consumption now containing plastic, the question is no longer are we eating plastic but how bad for us is that? In seawater plastic absorbs chemicals like PCB’s and DDT’s which have been linked to endocrine disruption and even some cancers, becoming more powerful as they work their way up the food chain.
The beach is where we go to connect with nature and put simply, it’s not the same if it’s covered in plastic. Some of us rely on it being clean for our livelihoods with coastal tourism being worth £5.5 billion to the UK economy. Even if we don’t eat fish, or even go to the beach, all of us without doubt, breathe! And 70% of all our oxygen is produced by marine plants, so we need to take care of it!
Can’t we scoop it all out of the sea?
Nice idea, but sadly impossible. For a start, only 1% of marine litter floats, with the vast majority sinking to the sea floor. Even if we tried to ‘scoop’ up that 1%, in international waters who would pay for it? To further complicate matters, the majority of it is microscopic.
There is no ‘away’ because even if miraculously we managed to get all of these pieces, most smaller than a grain of rice out of the sea, what would we do with it then? All we can do is stop using more.
Plastic isn’t all bad is it?
No, it can be incredibly useful. Diabetics use it for their disposable syringes; arthritic patients have it for their replaced hips; and construction workers wear it to protect their heads. Without it we wouldn’t have computers, mobile phones or cars. Essentially, it is vital.
The big problem
The big problem is single use plastics and the quantities in which they are used. A plastic bag for instance is used on average for 15 minutes, yet could take 100 – 300 years to fragment.
Help tackle our plastic rubbish . . .
An area of 200 square kilometres of the sea along our coastline from Hastings to Beachy Head and as far out as the Sovereign Lighthouse has been awarded the status:
Beachy Head East Marine Conservation Zone
The purpose is to protect the marine environment including the flora and fauna. Kelp forests might well be revived as part of this strategy. Sea water has been regarded as beneficial to health: “taking the waters” was one purpose for visiting our tourist town in previous times, for example, the Hydro Hotel had salt water baths for healing purposes.
So how can you help?
Please join us and support our efforts to make a measurable improvement in the world we are responsible for.