By Arabella Willing, Resident Marine Biologist at Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel and Villas
Plastic is an amazing substance, and one of its advantages is that it lasts for a very long time. In fact, almost all of the plastic ever created still exists in some form today.
Sadly, a huge quantity of plastic finds its way into the oceans, and half comes from disposable plastics such as straws, which are used for a matter of minutes before being thrown away.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, an estimated 46,000 pieces of floating plastic can be found in each square mile of the ocean. By 2050, the amount of plastic could outweigh the fish. Plastic can be found on all of our beaches, even uninhabited, tropical islands and within Arctic ice.
This obviously has implications for marine life, scientists (including those in Abu Dhabi) have found plastic in the stomach of a wide range of species, including all types of marine turtle. This causes starvation for the animal and may even lead to plastic ingestion in humans as well – A survey by Plymouth University found that a third of UK-caught fish contained plastic.
The good news is that a reported 84% of people are worried about plastic in the ocean. Although it will take hundreds of years, the plastic in our oceans will eventually biodegrade – in the meantime, we all need to be more considerate about how we use this durable and versatile material.
How are you reducing or reusing plastic? Drop us a line at Yalla.
The Impact on Marine Animals
This is a piece of plastic that Arabella extracted from the belly of a turtle who passed away. Let this photo serve as a reminder that every single piece of plastic you throw in the ocean might end up in the stomach of a marine animal, so please dispose of plastic properly or, better yet, don’t use it all!
