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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.
Plastics degrade by a variety of processes, the most significant of which is usually photo-oxidation. Their chemical structure determines their fate. Polymers' marine degradation takes much longer as a result of the saline environment and cooling effect of the sea, contributing to the persistence of plastic debris in certain environments. [57]
These particles originate from the degradation of larger plastics and are now found in various environmental matrices, including water, soil, and air. Given their minute size, NPs can penetrate biological barriers and accumulate in human tissues, potentially leading to adverse health effects.
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.
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.
Most of the plastics found were nano-sized shards or flakes of polyethylene, which is used in plastic bags, plastic food wrapping, and plastic water bottles. It's unclear what effect this may have ...
Plastic recycling is the processing of plastic waste into other products. [1] [2] [3] Recycling can reduce dependence on landfills, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. [4] [5] [6] Recycling rates lag behind those of other recoverable materials, such as aluminium, glass and paper.
Polymer degradation is the reduction in the physical properties of a polymer, such as strength, caused by changes in its chemical composition.Polymers and particularly plastics are subject to degradation at all stages of their product life cycle, including during their initial processing, use, disposal into the environment and recycling. [1]