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Plastic pollution on land poses a threat to the plants and animals – including humans who are based on the land. [87] Estimates of the amount of plastic concentration on land are between four and twenty three times that of the ocean. The amount of plastic poised on the land is greater and more concentrated than that in the water. [88]
Plastic pollution does not only affect animals that live solely in oceans. Seabirds are also greatly affected. In 2004, it was estimated that gulls in the North Sea had an average of thirty pieces of plastic in their stomachs. [206] Seabirds often mistake trash floating on the ocean's surface as prey.
In a 2021 study, researchers who examined plastic from the patch identified more than 40 animal species on 90 percent of the debris they studied. [ 47 ] [ 48 ] Discovery of a thriving ecosystem of life at the Great Pacific garbage patch in 2022 suggested that cleaning up garbage here may adversely remove this plastisphere .
Over 700 marine species, including half of the world’s cetaceans (such as whales and dolphins), all of its sea turtles, and a third of its seabirds, are known to ingest plastic.
A more recent concern in microplastic pollution is the use of plastic films in agriculture. 7.4 million tons of plastic film are used each year to increase food production. [22] Scientists have found that microbial biofilms can form within 7–14 days on plastic film surfaces, and have the ability to alter the chemical properties of the soil ...
With plastic production on track to triple by 2050, turning the tap off, as activists called it, or stopping the production of plastics, was the basis of this treaty.
A variety of effects have been observed in animals that ingest plastic, including reduced reproductive success, changes in immune function, and increased mortality. [6] There is also growing evidence suggesting that plastic bioaccumulates through the food web, so predators may be affected by the accumulation of plastic in their prey's diet. [6]
Nations made progress on a treaty to end plastic pollution as their fourth round of talks finished early Tuesday in Canada. For the first time in the process, negotiators discussed the text of ...