ENSTU 300: Critical Thinking & Communication in Environmental Studies

Micro-plastics in Marine
Ecosystems
Killian May, Environmental Studies Program, California State University
Monterey Bay

Figure #1 Micro-plastics that make marine worms sick (Youlden, 2013).

Introduction

Micro-plastic pollution is plastic particles defined to be less than 5mm in diameter as

seen in figure 1, which is a current problem the world encounters, and the steps necessary to
minimize pollution are complex and vary in particular methods. Production sources of plastic
and items requiring traditional plastics need to be rethought and attempt to use alternative
resources that are able to be properly disposed. Biodegradable products are important to
manufacture in replacement of single use plastics because over time they will be properly dealt
with using natural break down cycles. Using science to create reusable items without plastic will
be an industry people need to focus on. Consumer habits of buying the most accessible and
cheapest items need to change in order for pollution to decrease. Unnecessary packaging is a
problem in society as cosmetic appeal has become important to many. Wasted plastic trash is
found in almost every product used by the common American person each day whether it is
directly noticed or not.

Problems with plastic also involve dealing with disposal methods. Recycling is a great
tactic but only for those who are educated about it. Trying to recycle every piece of recyclable
product is impossible, and the stuff overlooked gets thrown into landfills or out into the open
environment. It is not necessarily the most effective way of dealing with the micro-plastic pieces
because it is hard to get society to focus on properly disposing a small piece of plastic that
simply can wash down the drain from a facial scrub cosmetic product. Repurposing and
alternatives are going to be key in helping future generations deal with the micro-plastic
pollution problem. Society will eventually need to understand they can use the resources already
at hand and keep using them until they are no longer good and then dispose of them properly
once full usage has been reached.

Collecting micro-plastics is a challenge to deal with because they are so small in size.
Creating harmful impacts to our terrestrial and marine environments through pollution and
fragmentation of large pieces, micro-plastics have found there way into all parts of our life. We
should address the micro-plastics issue by educating people and forming policies to regulate
production and uses of particular plastics.

Background

The Primary Sources of Micro-plastics

The chemical composition of plastics such as polystyrene, nylon, and polyethylene are
unable to break down in the natural environment. During World War II, plastic production nearly
quadrupled in the overall amounts being used for making items. Production went from 213
million pounds in 1939 to 818 million pounds by 1945 at the end of the war (Freinkel, 2009).

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The post war reactions from the American society pushed consumerism to a new high. Plastic
products allowed for affordable goods and people shared the abilities to enjoy simple
conveniences and comforts of a modern life (Freinkel, 2009). The introduction of plastics
enabled society to synthesize materials and achieve new innovations but the detrimental impacts
of long-term usage is more prevalent than ever before.

Fragmentation is a large cause of micro-plastic pollution (Cozar, 2014). When parts of

non-recycled plastic whether that is Styrofoam or polyethylene are not properly disposed in
recycling or trash bins, the items have potential for break down. Even as an item gets used or
broken into pieces over time, those small fragments never will decompose naturally, it is just that
it becomes harder to see and clean the smaller it gets. The particles once they enter the ocean
become an item that is not cost-effectively able to be detected and therefore has difficulty being
recycled or properly disposed in waste facilities (Andrady, 2017). Surface water, marine
sediments, and marine ecosystems now commonly are filled with micro-plastic particles in all
different parts of the world (Van
Cauwenberghe, 2013). The current marine
pollution of garbage patches are constantly
breaking down trash with current flow into
micro-particles like in figure 2, and it is a
growing problem being spread all over the
ocean.

The Pacific Garbage Patch is the

world’s biggest collection of trash
pollution in the ocean yet its only one of
five total accumulation sites. It is a mass
of trash that can be compared to be larger
the size of Texas and lies between the state
of Hawaii and California. The garbage
patch was first discovered back in 1997 by
Figure #2 Micro-plastic ocean sample from the
Charles Moore a yachtsman who had
Pacific Gyre (KQED Quest, 2016).

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passed through the debris on a excursion back to Los Angeles. The jar sample contains micro-
plastics that have fragmented from large plastics weathering from sun exposure and collision
with excess debris (National Geographic, 2018). Estimated numbers suggest that 1.15 to 2.41
million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean every year with the majority of it less dense than water
allowing it to float among the surface of sea. Problems with stronger more buoyant plastics are
durable in the marine environments, which allow them to drift farther distances off shore (The
Ocean Cleanup, 2018). As the plastics drift out into the open waters, they eventually enter the
patch where they most likely are to stay and circulate until they break down from the sun and
leach chemicals into the water. The actual estimated size of the Pacific Garbage patch is roughly
1.6 million square kilometers. In order to develop the estimated size, the team of scientist from
the Ocean Cleanup sent out a fleet of 30 boats with 652 surface nets and two airplanes over the
patch itself to gather aerial images to map data points. During the time of sampling they
discovered over 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic that weighed roughly 80,000 tonnes collectively
(The Ocean Cleanup, 2018). Within the patch, the majority of plastics collected were made from
rigid or hard polyethylene or polypropylene. The sizes of plastics are characterized into four
different groups: micro-plastics (0.05 – 0.5 cm), meso-plastics (0.5 – 5 cm), macro-plastics (5 –
50 cm), mega-plastics (>50 cm). The entire mass contains 92% of debris objects that are larger
than 0.5 cm and three quarters of the mass is made of macro and mega-plastics. Micro-plastics
however account for 94% of the total object count (The Ocean Cleanup, 2018). According to The
Ocean Cleanup, deterioration of large plastic pieces are direct results from sun exposure, wave
activity, marine life interaction, and temperature fluctuations. Though they are small and are
found on the surface, they have also been discovered as deep as the ocean floor.

In recent years, cosmetic products have introduced the use of micro-plastics or micro-
bead formulas for skin exfoliating purposes. The cosmetic product lists are extremely large but
the main brands affected with items containing micro-beads are Aveeno, Bliss, Bath and Body
Works, Clean and Clear, CVS, Clearasil, Garnier, Neutrogena, Nivea, Olay, and several others.
The brands have products that all are categorized under different uses such as Scrubs/Peelings,
Facial Cleaners, Shower/Bath, Toothpaste, Make-up, Diverse, and Skincare. Depending on the
category of product more brands are prone to using more micro-beads in their formulas. Facial
scrubs and cleansers primarily focused on acne treatment and removing blackheads from pores

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using the micro-beads as exfoliators bringing skin oils to the surface for cleaning. The shower
and bath formula products were incorporating micro-beads to remove dirt off the body and deep
clean the pores. As for the toothpaste containing micro-beads, the purpose was to cause abrasion
of the plaque and remove tartar from teeth. Brands like Aquafresh, Colgate, Crest, and Oral B all
are known to have a product in their line containing the beads. The issue with every product that
uses the micro-bead formula is they wash down the drain upon being rinsed off which sends
them into the waterways (Product Information, 2018).

Scientific Background

Bioaccumulation of Micro-plastics in Marine Environments

Recent data represents accumulations of micro-plastic within marine organisms (Derraik,

2002; Hammer, 2012). Zooplanktons, bivalves, and fish are ingesting pieces of micro-plastics
mistaken as food sources which is harmful for the trophic levels relying on the bottom levels.
With small fragments drifting freely in the oceans, it is common that somewhere a fish or smaller
organism will intake a small amount of the particles. The problem with growing micro-plastic
pollution is that trophic levels will pass the pieces to the higher levels ultimately to be consumed
by humans who rely on fish for food proposing health risks (Seltenrich, 2015). Micro-plastics
have chemical, biological, and physical impacts on the direct consumer and indirect consumer of
a particular marine organism (Farrell and Nelson, 2013; Wright, 2013; Setälä, 2014).

Ingestion related stress on organisms has grown exponentially over the years. Feeding
type shows different consumption levels of micro-plastics in aquatic environments. Invertebrates
and vertebrates have been found to contain micro-fibers within the gut (Mizraji, 2017). Intertidal
zones are places of high risk for micro-plastic accumulation due to the amount of aquatic activity
mixing around sediments and parts of the habitats (Raffaelli and Hawkins, 1996). As small
marine organisms consume the micro-plastic pieces, the particles never are properly digested and
sit within the gut. A fish seeking out its common prey does not escape the pollution eaten by the
other organism. Food digests but the growth of micro-plastic pieces continues within the linings

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of the next trophic level that ate its last meal. Issues with human health arises once micro-plastics
are noticed in the food sources directly caught for consumption.

In figure 3, bioaccumulation is shown to affect all sizes of marine organisms because the
micro-plastics come in various forms. Commercial fishing industries will eventually notice a
potential decline in the amount of non-contaminated fish caught as the intake levels increase with
overall abundance. China leads the way with the most plastic pollution globally. (Jambeck,
2015). Food coming from the ocean supports millions of people throughout the world as a sole
food source. If increases in plastic production continue, people neglect proper waste disposal,
and fragmentation continues the main fish species caught for nutritional value will no longer be
able to feed or economically sustain parts of society in the world.

Figure 3: Bioaccumulation of plastics within the ocean trophic levels.

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 Threats to marine organisms from plastics overall affects their behavior, health, and
existence in particular regions or water temperatures. Studies have shown results of about 700
different species encountering marine pollution with 92% of that being plastics. There are
currently seventeen different species of marine organisms affected by plastics that are listed on
the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species (The
Ocean Cleanup). At the surface of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is 180 times more plastic than
marine life which means species are ingesting large amounts of it at some point since they
inhabit the area. Sea turtle populations are greatly affected by the plastic pollution because they
mistake items for food sources and end up containing 74% of their diet being plastics. Another
species threatened by micro-plastics in particular is the Laysan albatross chicks that live in Kure
Atoll and Oahu Island because they have found 45% of their body mass was composed of
plastics from surface waters (The Ocean Cleanup, 2018). Persistent bio-accumulative toxic
chemical levels are building up to detrimental scales for species ingesting the pieces with the
attached chemicals. As for the affects on the human food chain, bioaccumulation will begin to
take over as the feeder becomes the prey and the chemicals are passed to the predator, eventually
to the human population consuming seafood.

Policy Context

Federal Policy

The United States Federal Government has developed a policy over the recent years to
deal with the micro-bead pollution derived from personal care products. The approach taken
towards eliminating micro-plastic pollution from such products created the bill H.R. 1321 the
Micro-bead-Free Waters Act of 2015, and it became a law on December 28, 2015. This bill
currently amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ban rinse-off cosmetics that
purposefully added unnecessary plastic micro-beads beginning on January 1, 2018 with a ban on
manufacturing these particular cosmetic products by July 1, 2017 (Pallone, 2015). The subject

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term to best describe the policy measures was health, and the House Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Health were behind the action taken towards implementing the policy (Pallone,
2015). Across the United States, the policy appears to be affective, as companies have taken
positive actions towards eliminating the beads from product lines. Representative Frank Pallone
Jr., a democrat of New Jersey, mentioned the rapid success and unanimous decision from the
Senate surprised him: he states, “There was a lot of support, and there wasn’t much opposition”
(Schwartz, 2015).

New York State Policy

On the state level, New York was one the first to enact strict guidelines for personal care
products. Senate Bill S3932 prohibits the sale of personal cosmetic products with micro-bead
formulas on January 1, 2016. The implementation of the state law aims to eliminate the pollution
within New York’s waterways in efforts to restore lakes and rivers that flow into the ocean.
Disposal through sink drains has allowed these micro-beads to flush down pipes and enter
waterways where fish and other aquatic organisms ingest the beads (S. 3932, 2017). A report
generated by the office of state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman noted that micro-beads
passed through twenty-five of the thirty-four wastewater treatment plants in seventeen different
counties. (Wheeler, 2015). On the consumer level, people have taken steps towards eliminating
their own personal products containing the harmful micro-beads. People have taken products out
of their cabinets and set them aside for the pharmaceutical collection days where medicine is
properly be disposed by professionals (Wheeler, 2015).

California State Policy

Another state that has taken initiative in implementing a ban on the single-use plastic
beads in cosmetic products is California. The state policy AB 888 bans the sale of products
containing plastic micro-beads that are found in facial scrubs, personal care products, and
toothpastes (AB 888, 2015). The bill passed on October 8, 2015, which was signed by Governor
Jerry Brown and assembly member Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) who helped author the bill.
Main sponsors for the bill include Californians Against Waste, California Association of

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Sanitation Agencies, Clean Water Action, The Story of Stuff Project, and the 5 Gyres Institute
(Californians Against Waste, 2015). The bill aims to reduce the problem at the source by
eliminating all micro-beads from products by 2020. Alternatives such as cocoa beans, salt, and
apricot shells are the sustainable approach to using biodegradable methods. Unlike most micro-
bead bans throughout the country AB 888 does not allow for the use of new forms of plastic that
producers claim are safe and biodegradable because they are not scientifically proven to be
biodegradable. The only way a product can be used is if it shows evidence that it can be broken
down naturally. AB 888 takes affect January 1, 2020 and is estimated to keep thirty-eight tons of
plastic pollution out of California’s freshwater and marine ecosystems (Californians Against
Waste, 2015).

Stakeholder Perspectives

Adventure Scientists
The Adventure Scientists are a non-profit organization that allows people with data
collected through outdoor research to share crucial information addressing environmental
challenges. The first goal of the organization is to provide efficient hard-to-obtain environmental
data not normally readily available for conservation. The second goal is to grow a network of
volunteers informed about conservation and are deeply committed to participating in the
scientific process. The last goal is to serve as an invaluable connection between both the outdoor
community and conservation of the planet (Adventure Scientist, 2018).

Adventure Scientist is different than most

organizations because data retrieval and collection can
be time consuming and expensive. In efforts to get the
most information possible, they recruit, train, and
manage different individuals with strong outdoor skills
that are able to research hard to reach places. With
involvement in Adventure Scientist, volunteers become
ambassadors for particular species or regions in which
Figure #4 Adventure Scientists logo
(Adventure Scientists, 2018).
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they work. Valuing creativity, optimism, persistence, achievement, reflection, and stewardship
Adventure Scientists serves as a conservation leader around the globe (Adventure Scientist,
2018).

Abby Barrows a Marine Research Scientist took a water sample from a local stream in
Deer Isle, ME five years ago and discovered several small particles of plastic. She was
particularly interested in how it is affecting our ocean and drinking water. Partnered with
Adventure Scientist, Abby was able to train volunteer adventurers and explorers to collect water
samples from all parts of the globe comprising the world’s most extensive data set of micro-
plastic pollution (Adventure Scientist, 2018). The data set can be accessed online by requesting
permission. Scientific labs, governments, and industries to address current and future
environmental issues are using the data to make changes and create policies.
Sponsors for the Adventure Scientists are National Geographic, Patagonia, 1% for the
Planet, US Bank, Clif Bar, Klean Kanteen, SteriPEN, Yellowstone Club, Kahtoola, Sunski, Peak
Design, Madshus, Goformz, Croakies, and Atlas Snow-Shoes. Conservation partners include
GAIA GPS, Stanford University, UC-Davis Road Ecology, Harvard Medical School,
Association of Partners for Public Lands, Trent University, 5 Gyres, and US Department of
Interior Bureau of Land Management. Adventure partners include Girls Gone Polar, The
American Alpine Club, Oceans Project, and World Cruising Club (Adventure Scientist, 2018).

ESDO: Environment and Social Development Organization

ESDO is an organization in Bangladeshi working towards spreading the message for
environmental conservation. The protection of biological diversity and ecological balance are
important as they focus on spreading knowledge to the wider communities about how human
activities negatively can impact the region of Bangladesh. As a non-profit and non-government
organization they strive to improve livelihoods, economic status, and environmental education to
vulnerable parts of Bangladesh unaware of sustainability and conservation (ESDO, 2018). The
mission of ESDO is to encourage environmental movements through a participatory framework
incorporating multiple different social groups and get them to brainstorm ideas, spread
information, and leadership in forming safe and sustainable environments.

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 Figure #5 ESDO logo (ESDO, 2018).

A membership based action research organization consists of 42 members in the general

council. The general council has authority to elect new executive committees for 2 years, and it
is responsible for policy formulation and operational management regulation (ESDO, 2018). At
the event, “Combating the pollution threat from micro-plastic litter to save marine health in the
Bay of Bengal” the session was held by Syed Marghub Murshed the Former Secretary, Peoples
Republic of Bangladesh and Chairperson of ESDO. He notes there is no evidence for micro-bead
usefulness but rather it is only a threat and environmentally unhealthy agent of pollution. ESDO
urges the government of Bangladesh and its communities to come forward in raising awareness
about micro-plastics. They want the public to pressure the policies for products containing
micro-beads and ban the production and sale of micro-plastics in Bangladesh.
Partners of ESDO are IPEN, Toxics Link, World Alliance, GAIA, and IUCN. Donors
include Australian Government, UNIDO, UNEP, Europa.eu, and the European Commission
(ESDO, 2018).
Table 1: Stakeholder Perspectives
Stakeholder Representative What does the How can the What are the
group and Examples stakeholder value stakeholder concerns of the
representatives about the project? contribute to the stakeholder?
project?
Environmentalists Adventure Scientific/ecological Advocate for Over abundances
Scientists values environmental of micro-plastics
policies in marine
Protection of environments
wildlife habitat Mobilizing
members

Collect Data

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Environmentalists ESDO Scientific/ecological Advocate for Excess pollution
(Environmental values environmental
and Social policies
Development Preserve natural
Organization) environments Mobilize
members
Conservation of
biological diversity Advocate
and ecological sustainability
balance
Industry Corona Clean beaches Advocate Ocean pollution
sustainable
Non-polluted alternatives to Degraded surf
marine habitats single use plastic spots

Sustainable
alternatives
Non-Profit Communities for Scientific/ecological Advocate Degradation of
Sustainable values Sustainable marine
Monterey alternatives to ecosystems
County Preserve natural single use
marine plastics in local Excess pollution
environments restaurants
Species loss
Clean coastlines Educate about
bioplastic threats
Sustainability
Professional Surf Stephanie Clean coastlines Advocate Excess pollution
Community Gilmore/Dave sustainable
Rastovich Trash free alternatives to Loss of surf
ecosystems/habitats single use spots
plastics
Sustainability Species loss
Promote
recycling Habitat
destruction

On April 6, 2018, I spoke with Laurie Eavey the Co-Chair from Communities for
Sustainable Monterey County (CSMC). Prior to focusing efforts on sustainable practices, Laurie
received a degree in Systems Analysis and Business. Her positions throughout her career shifted
through a few jobs like executive education, marketing, H.R. and a Business Solutions Analyst.

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Retiring a few years ago, Laurie became interested in the health of our environment due to
noticing the inputs and outputs from product production ending up in the natural environments as
pollution.

She claims to have noticed a local shift throughout the Monterey County in the recent
years to be more sustainable and recognize the need for change. Tourists are a problem she
explained because they have expectations for items like plastic straws, utensils, containers, and
bags from restaurants. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a huge contributor to spreading plastic
pollution awareness however, Laurie brought up an interesting point. She noticed that the
aquarium often provides exhibits or posters that show pollution problems yet do not show
solutions but rather art pieces or other forms of expression showing it’s a problem. The solutions
aspect of the problem needs to be addressed in order to educate and get people to think about
reusable alternatives. Businesses and restaurants in the area have difficulties giving up the
plastics because the alternative of using paper is more expensive. Monterey currently is working
on banning Single Use Service Ware, and Carmel already has a ban on plastic straws. The
aquarium backed Carmel’s ban on straws, yet it still is allowing bio plastics. Laurie noted that
Monterey will be the first place that will ban bio plastics, and the effects of bio plastics can be
detrimental to marine ecosystems.

According to Laurie, CSMC does not currently have an idea for alternatives to the single
use service ware but to provide paper straws. The only options they discussed would be paper
products or reusable items. With the implementation of the plastic straw ban, restaurants are only
allowed to provide paper straws upon request in order to keep the restaurants cost at a neutral
level. When I asked her about her own personal beach clean up experience, she noted that it was
pretty minimal. She explained that on her walks she collects trash from the streets and nearby
ocean areas but has never participated in an organized clean up. Her main focus right now is to
address education and educate people on alternatives and minimizing the use of plastic items
when possible. I asked her about her knowledge of local schools discussing plastic pollution, and
she was not familiar with any particular efforts to get the kids educated on the topic. Her
approach towards spreading awareness is variable because it’s the audiences that are the target

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and there are many ways to spread ideas. She notes there is not always one perfect form of
spreading awareness but some small reminders can make a huge difference at times.

On April 22, 2018, I spoke with Ximena Waissbluth about her role and experiences with
Surfrider Foundation. In 2005, she and a few other local people in the area rebuilt the Surfrider
Foundation Chapter of Monterey. She noted that 13 years ago plastic pollution was a problem
not many including herself knew much about especially micro-plastics. She wanted to learn more
about the growing issue and attended a conference in San Diego lead by Captain Charles Moore
called Marine Debris Reverse to Sea. After attending the conference and learning about the
Albatross, she went back to Monterey to create her own presentation for educating others.

The talks she gave revolved around plastic pollution, and she visited a wide variety of
different places. Educating people was important to her so she has talked at schools ranging from
first grade through high school. She has also talked at Rotary clubs, businesses, and other adult
programs. Approached by Surfrider Foundation, they supported Ximena to travel all over
different parts of California giving her talk to different audiences. She was also approached by
NOAA to receive a grant that allowed her to essentially educate and train other people on how to
give her presentation. Spreading her knowledge on a small scale allowed her to build up her
audiences and eventually team of educators that were able to spread the problem across even
more audiences. When it came to her own personal beach clean ups, she finds more micro-
plastics than regular fragmented pieces of plastic. The bottle caps she said are the most
noticeable item she comes across during her beach clean ups.

Discussion

Attempting to fully clean up micro-plastics from marine ecosystems is out of arms reach
at this point, but it is the approached steps taken right now that will guide the future of pollution
amounts in the ocean. The recommendations for minimizing micro-plastics are to promote
consumers to purchase micro-plastic or micro-bead free products, ban micro-plastic products,
and tax plastic production. Taking these options into consideration, variations of alternatives and
new ideas arise within the respective criteria.

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 The first recommendation to purchase micro-plastic free is a crucial starting point to get
people thinking about how to eliminate the potential pollution from using a specific cosmetic
product containing the micro-plastic fragments. Option one is effective in that it would reduce
the amount of directly deposited micro-plastic/beads from sinks or drains. Educating people that
do not see the ocean is important with this option because people living inland do not notice the
actual amounts of pollution. After educating people to about the potential threats and dangers of
micro-plastics and micro-bead formulas, it is necessary to encourage products that use
sustainably natural alternatives. The option is also cheaper and safer allowing for sustainable
alternatives to be resourced instead of synthetic chemicals. Using natural exfoliants over the
micro-beads is far more beneficial not only to ones own personal health but also the spill over
effect left on marine life. Sustainable alternatives for exfoliating as opposed to micro-beads
include cocoa-beans, jojoba beads, apricot shells, and oats. The options for natural exfoliants are
successful for products that want to utilize a method for deep cleaning because they are
biodegradable and can be broken down through natural processes less likely to affect marine
organisms through transportation to the ocean.

The second option is to change over to more sustainable and natural types of cosmetic
products. Banning the micro-plastic containing products would reduce future impacts to
ecosystems; yet taxing plastic production might be one of the most important. Banning the
specific use of the micro-bead formulas puts a stop in the overall inputs that can potentially end
up in the waterways, however it does not clean up what is already out there. The ban on products
is necessary in order to guide future decisions and ideas for products that could be brought to the
market. The policies that eliminate and ban the use of formulas will set a standard in the
cosmetic industry and hopefully shift their product lines to more sustainable ingredients. Not
only will this potential switch from plastics to natural alternatives help marine organisms and
ecosystems, but it will also address human health issues that result from plastic overuse. The
recent findings within the major plastic water bottle companies is a human health issue people
will soon need to fully address as they become more dominant in our oceans and freshwater
systems like rivers, lakes, and streams where they collect water for bottling.

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 Option number three is highly important as well because if the taxes go up for production
of specific plastics, it puts pressure on industry’s manufacturing to create more alternative types
or methods. The other result of high taxes on the plastic industry is that it becomes too expensive
to manufacture and the cost to benefit ratio is not reasonable for the industry to continue.
Taxation of plastic would need to be also spread beyond the manufacturing industry and be
enforced on products that are consumed through regular retail stores. Plastic bag taxation is a
great start to the movement but products that are placed in plastic containers should be taxed
based on the type of plastic utilized. Products that are made from plastic need to be properly
labeled on the product as to which chemical composition the plastic is composed of and then
taxes should vary depending on the scientific knowledge of what breaks down fastest to average
sizes based on the plastic size chart. Specific plastics with more rigid or hard chemicals should
be taxed higher and eventually forced out of use. Bio plastics should however not be the
alternative to the high tax imposed on regular plastics because the composition of bio plastics
present a whole different impact on the environment.

Table 2: Analysis of Policy Options by Criteria

Criteria Policy Option 1: Policy Option 2: Policy Option 3:

Purchase Micro- Ban Micro-plastic Tax Plastic
plastic Free Products Production
Marine Life +++ It removes ++ Reduces Future + Assumes reduction
pollution in Impact of plastic use and
habitats/ecosystems need for products
Reduces impact from - Will not bear out
overconsumption fully
Feasibility-Economic +- Products would be +Businesses cost for -Negative approach
cheaper and safer for production might be can be effective but
the environment higher (Shipping and industry and business
Sourcing) will not like it
+-Incentives help
reduce the burden

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Feasibility-Technical +- Natural Sustainable +- Reduces the + Assuming society
Alternatives amount of new adapts to a new source
products designed for of material for a an
humans, creates alternative to micro-
alternative routes to plastics/plastics
avoid plastic items

The stakeholders surrounding micro-plastic pollution are crucial to the development of

new policies and ensuring sustainable alternatives to single use plastics are popularized for future
generations. The environmentalist groups Adventure Scientists and ESDO are two strong
stakeholders that can effectively make changes in the policies around the world. Using global
data from research volunteers all over the world interested in micro-plastic pollution have
accurately reported data showing micro-plastics are in every environment. Another highly
important stakeholder is Parley for the Oceans. An organization of collective creators, thinkers,
and leaders come together to raise awareness working towards projects that end destruction of
the ocean. Synchronizing the ecosystem of nature with the human economic system is important
in making environmental changes in major companies. The strategy taken by Parley for the
Oceans is incredibly useful and simple for addressing the micro-plastic and plastic pollution as a
whole. A.I.R. or Avoid Intercept Redesign is the powerful approach towards minimizing harmful
impacts from plastic pollution. The mottos of “Avoid plastic where ever possible, Intercept
plastic waste, and Redesign the plastic economy” are effective in spreading the information to
unaware locations.

Recommendation

Through out the last several years, the amount of micro-plastics has become an evident
issue in our marine ecosystems. We as humans should take instinctual responsibility and clean
up after ourselves when we are out in public and in nature. The marine life needs our support and
the criteria is important because influx of micro-plastics in fish guts are depleting populations
mistaking particles for food. Human health impacts are increasingly going to rise, as the
pollution of micro-plastics gets worse. The long-term affects of how the plastics harm not only
marine species but also human populations are going to be more frequently studied as the
numbers in pollution go up. Our obligation to the natural environment as well as society should

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be to minimize our consumptions of plastics when we can. Educating ourselves to understand the
impacts and knowing the harmful chemical compositions of plastics will encourage us to shift
away from the cheap and easy resource we created in history. The mistake has been created so
now we must do what we can when we can to work on cleaning up and reusing sustainable
resources so plastics do not break down into micro pieces. Trying to get society onto the
sustainable route will take time especially for the places that have no knowledge about what it
means to be sustainable yet due to the term being fairly new. It is going to be hard to break
peoples habits of quick single use plastics but if people want an ocean 100 years from now
society needs to change. Educating people at younger levels is crucial to the future generations
impacts and potential to clean up the damage. Regulations on how we use our plastics and what
types are produced needs to be monitored under strict control as it is become out of hand.
Recommending reusable water bottles is something that’s caught on within the last several years
but it seems to only really be happening in places that care about the environmental health
already. Trying to use organic products and natural alternatives such as paper straws will be
effective in slowly changing society’s needs for what they deem necessary and obligated to use.
Breaking down the realities of actual necessities is important because right now the over use of
plastic makes society depend on the cheap resource and neglect the facts of better alternatives
that naturally are at our expenditure.

I highly recommend going with options one and two because purchasing power is
extremely dangerous in any market, and the option to ban micro-beads will be the best chance at
minimizing micro-pollution into the ocean. People follow trends so if becoming environmentally
friendly using sustainable alternatives to plastic becomes popular enough societies will cling
onto the idea and can make serious improvements. It is going to take the power of social media,
governments, and individual mindsets to take action in solving one of the world’s greatest
environmental problems.

Conclusion
Micro-plastic pollution along with plastic pollution as a whole goes hand in hand. It is up
to society, and the approaches towards the environment that are going to make positive changes

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and protect the health of the ocean. Education is a key component to the plastic pollution issue,
and we must spread the knowledge and data learned through research to show real amounts
floating in the open ocean. Making small-scale changes will hopefully build up attitudes and
approaches to micro-plastic problems because the ocean is not the only place threatened
anymore. Pretty soon the micro-plastic problems will be everywhere and unable to be avoided
because fragmentation with improper waste disposal continues. Unfortunately with the way
society works, micro-plastics will not be a important problem to all people until they directly see
their food sources disappear and they loose people from cancer or other illnesses from the
harmful chemicals used in plastic production.

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