Microplastics Worse for Marine Life Than Previously Thought
21 July 2014 06:46 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tiny plastic particles polluting the oceans has known to be bad for marine animals since they would enter the ingestion orally. Recent study have found that the microplastics are not only digested orally but also enter their system through gills and will stay in the creature’s body six time longer than standard digestion.
"This is highly important from an ecological point of view, as if these plastics are retained longer within the animal there is more chance of them being passed up the food chain,” Lead author Dr Andrew Watts of Biosciences at the University of Exeter said to ScienceDaily.
The use of plastic in human’s everyday lives has been estimated to grow up tp 288 tons in 2013. Around 10 percent of plastic which is thrown away ends up in the marine environment. This plastic is then degraded by wave action, heat or UV into microplastic sized smaller than 5 mm.
“This is a human issue. We have put this plastic there, mostly accidently, but it is our problem to solve. The best way to do this is to reduce our dependency on plastic. It comes back to the old phrase: reduce, reuse and recycle," Dr Watts added.
The study was published on journal Environmental Science and Technology.
SCIENCE DAILY
