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In the marine environment, plastic pollution causes "Entanglement, toxicological effects via ingestion of plastics, suffocation, starvation, dispersal, and rafting of organisms, provision of new habitats, and introduction of invasive species are significant ecological effects with growing threats to biodiversity and trophic relationships.
Moreover, plastic exposed to sunlight and in watering environments produce greenhouse gases, leading to further environmental impact. [149] As the plastic particles are primarily found in the pelagic layer of the ocean they experience high levels of photodegradation, which causes the plastics to break down into ever smaller pieces.
At the same time, there is growing concern about the health and environmental consequences of microplastics — the bits of degraded plastic that slough off as the product ages, or is used, or washed.
Humans are exposed to toxic chemicals and microplastics at all stages in the plastics life cycle. Microplastics effects on human health are of growing concern and an area of research. The tiny particles known as microplastics (MPs), have been found in various environmental and biological matrices, including air, water, food, and human tissues.
Plastic pollution makes up 80% of all marine debris from surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Because plastics are light, much of this pollution is seen in and around the ocean surface, but plastic trash and particles are now found in most marine and terrestrial habitats, including the deep sea , Great Lakes, coral reefs, beaches, rivers, and ...
In the 1980s and 1990s, plastic recycling and the development of biodegradable plastics began to flourish to mitigate environmental impacts. [ 141 ] [ 142 ] From 2000 to the present, bioplastics from renewable sources and awareness of microplastics have spurred extensive research and policies to control plastic pollution.