The Effects of Plastics on Marine Wildlife
The zero/low-waste movement supports a more sustainable and conscious lifestyle, and its focus on the drastic reduction of waste that we produce.
The foundations of this movement lay on a set of “rules” developed to help and guide the entire process, having as an ending result the reduction of our ecological footprint.
Bea Johnson, the author of the book Zero Waste Home, has inspired a global movement. Bea and her family have debunked common misconceptions that waste-free living is depriving, time-consuming and costly, and her book has become a bible of waste-free living.
“Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (and only in that order) is my family’s secret to reducing our annual trash to a jar since 2008” Bea Johnson
Absorption and ingestion of microplastics by organisms from the primary trophic level (i.e. zooplankton) could be a pathway into the food chain.
The trophic transfer has been previously shown in lower food chain species. Still, a study published in 2018 by Dr Sarah Nelms from the University of Exeter, demystified and provided solid proof that trophic transfer of microplastics (through the consumption of plastic-contaminated prey) and subsequently toxins can happen between prey items and top predators.
Trophic transfer of plastics leads to bioaccumulation of plastic through the food web. Abundant microplastics particles have been observed in gastrointestinal tracts of cetaceans. And, correlative evidence from fish, seabirds, and mussels support the potential of plastics to cause bioaccumulation of environmental pollutants.