All World
Gayatri Pariwar

The Looming Danger of Land and Marine Debris

Our changing life styles, which favor ‘use and throw’ mindset, have tremendously increased the use of plastic bags, plastic food packets, singleuse water bottles, grocery bags, food wrappers, etc. After use, they are not disposed of properly. In India, we can sight them on the roads, bus stops, railway stations, near public places, temples, hospitals, parks, picnic spots, etc. Due to the poor waste management practices, this debris is leading to pollution in all forms – earth pollution, air pollution and water pollution. Waste and garbage is no longer a challenge just for the land; it is becoming a danger for the oceans too. In general, it is perceived that ocean is too large and that anything can be put into it without any adverse effect to the environment. But reality is just the opposite of it.

97% of water on Earth is present in the oceans. 71% of Earth is occupied by the oceans. So, the existence of Earth is largely dependent on the well-being of the oceans. For the past few years, man’s reckless actions have begun to pollute the oceans, lakes and waterways. What is worrisome is that no one seems to be seriously interested in dealing with this issue.

The biggest threat to the oceans is plastic waste. According to environmental organization named ‘Green Peace’, 28 crore tons of plastic is produced every year. Out of this 20% is disposed of in the oceans. Nobody even has an estimate of how much plastic is deposited in the ocean bed since this is different from the waste that is found floating on the surface of water. This plastic waste has adversely affected the oceanic fauna and flora.

According to a report, 100,000 turtles and marine mammals, such as dolphins, whales and seals, are killed by plastic marine litter every year around the world. Plastics are the most common manmade objects sighted at sea, with 18,000 pieces of plastic litter floating on every square kilometer of the world’s oceans! According to another report published by an Environmental program of United Nations, 80% of the garbage generated by people reaches the landfills and 20% finds its way into the oceans. The Tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 has created a long island of debris in an otherwise peaceful ocean. Similarly, there are many such islands of debris in the entire world. If our careless actions continue like this, we will see these garbage islands everywhere.

The garbage in the ocean, unlike that in the land does not get collected in one place. It flows with water and spreads everywhere. That is the reason, why it poses a danger to environment, water transport, economy and health of mankind. Another alarming factor is that 70% of the sewage waste is dumped in the rivers, which ultimately reaches the ocean. The 8000 km long coastline of our country, which includes cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Goa and Surat, is densely populated. These economically progressive cities are perennially under the pressure of increasing population.

These cities are also disposing of theirwaste in the nearby seas. In the developing nations, this method of disposing waste appears to be the easiest solution. The problem also appears to be solved in the short-term; however, continuing with this approach in the long-term poses an imminent threat to the entire mankind.