ANALYSIS - Global Community To Face Tough Time When Trying To Clean Seabed Of Microplastics

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th May, 2020) After a new study found the highest-ever amount of microplastics on the ocean floor in areas which are also biodiversity hotspots, experts told Sputnik that the global community would face a great challenge if it tries to clean up the seabed of tiny pieces of plastic.

Late in April, a study, led by Dr Ian Kane of the University of Manchester, was published in the journal Science. It has revealed that the bottom currents, which supply oxygen and nutrients to the biodiversity hotspots, may also bring microplastics to those areas and thus create hotbeds of up to 1.9 million pieces of plastic in just one square meter of seafloor. This may represent a threat to human, marine and animal life as pieces of plastic may accumulate pollutants and toxins, which in a food chain cycle may end up on tables.

Even if microplastics did not end up on sea floor, they are brought back ashore by ocean breeze, a study, led by Steve Allen of the Glasgow-based University of Strathclyde, revealed earlier in the month. The findings calls into question the belief in the restorative effect of sea breeze. According to the research, up to 136,000 tons of microplastic annually could be brought on shore by sea spray.

OVER 800 SPECIES AFFECTED BY MICROPLASTIC POLLUTION

Some 5 million tons of micro- and macro plastics pollute the environment annually, endangering some 800 marine species, Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, the executive secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), told Sputnik.

"Microplastics have direct impacts on marine animals through ingestion, and potential impacts from bioaccumulation of chemical compounds found in or transported by ingested plastic particles. More than 800 species are known to be affected by ingestion, including invertebrates, fish and birds. Human health may also be affected by contamination of microplastics in food and agriculture, including through micro and nano particles found in food items for human consumption. Plastic particles and marine litter may also act as carriers and breeding grounds for pathogens, diseases and contaminants," Alisjahbana, who also serves as the UN under-secretary-general, said.

The ESCAP study showed that plastics had been found in very far-reaching corners of the planet, including at 11,000 meters (36,000 feet) under the water in the Mariana Trench, the UN official added, noting that micro- and nanoparticles of plastic were more difficult to detect and to recapture than macroplastics.

LITTLE CAN BE DONE TO CLEAN UP THE OCEAN

Even though the global community has been actively working on cleaning the ocean of macroplastics, the microplastic cleanup is far more challenging, if not currently impossible, the experts said and urged the world to focus on preventing the tiny plastic pieces from reaching the waters.

"To my knowledge there is very little that can be done to clean up these microplastic hotspots in the oceans. The estimates are that the plastics will take hundreds of years to break down. Recently, an engineered enzyme was developed to break down the very abundant plastic, polyethylene tetraphthalate (PET). This was reported in the journal Nature in 2020. However, how does one get this enzyme into the deep ocean? The main thing we can do is try to stop the microplastics at their source," Dr. Edward J. Carpenter, the Professor with the Estuary and Ocean Science Center of San Francisco State University, told Sputnik.

ESCAP, which oversees the implementation of the UN Sustainable Goal 14 on the sustainable use of the ocean, calls on all stakeholders to think beyond filtration and overhaul the whole value chain, Alisjahbana said.

"In order to prevent these plastic particles from reaching the ocean, we need to think beyond filtration. Indeed, filtration systems at plants are an important element of waste management. However, a more comprehensive solution to this problem requires rethinking the whole value chain, questioning whether commodities and supplies can be replaced by more sustainable and ocean-friendly alternatives. Restoring the seabed is not an easy task, it is certainly more complicated than organizing beach clean-ups. The first step from the global community should be to stop any further pollution, and then, to work towards the development of new technologies that support all cleaning/removal efforts," the ESCAP chief said.

There are already some positive signs in the Asia-Pacific region, which is responsible for a large part of ocean pollution, as some countries have already curbed plastic waste, the UN official noted.