Social Studies - Causes & Effects Plastic Pollution

Action	Cause (Why did it happen?)	Effect (Short/Long Term) (What happened after?)
Littering	Construction People are lazy People do not care Attitude towards littering Immaturity Stubborn behavior Pack behavior Low fines Lack of education Not enough trash cans	Spread of diseases Injuries Social costs Social tensions Increased probability for fires Breeding ground for insects Soil pollution Water pollution Air pollution Decease in tourism Visual pollution Effects on life quality Effects on animals Effects on plants Effects on aquatic life Effects on birds Economic effects
Daily use of plastic	Plastic is Everywhere! Plastic is used across almost every sector, including to produce packaging, in building and construction, in textiles, consumer products, transportation, electrical and electronics and industrial machinery.	Plastic used in daily life are of extreme scientific and societal concern Plastics can be found in the environmental and food sources  Daily use of plastics can cause toxic impacts on environment and human health Additives are more toxic than monomers to human-beings and wildlife
Provide an example of GOVERNMENTAL CONTROL (Already done/can be done)	Government announces plan to tackle problem plastics and seven single-use plastic items Following the success of the phase out of single-use plastic shopping bags, the Government now has plans out more single-use and problematic plastics to reduce waste and protect the environment, Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage. The proposals are to phase-out: Some hard-to-recycle PVC and polystyrene packaging and oxo-degradable plastic products Seven single-use plastic items, including plastic straws, drink stirrers, produce bags, tableware (e.g. plastic plates, bowls, cutlery) and non-compostable fruit stickers.	There are going to be less usage of plastic in restaurants and more marine life animals will be saved.
Provide an example of POSITIVE SOCIAL ACTION	People bring their own bags when they go out shopping, taking their own non-plastic cutlery when dining out and taking their own drink bottle	Less plastic usage in restaurants and then less plastic rubbish in the environment and the oceans
Tonnes of rubbish being dumped in the ocean	Cargo Activity at the Ports Carelessness in Terms of Sewer and Industrial Waste Dumping Ignorance and Lack of Adequate Knowledge Spillage From Offshore Rigs and Oil Tankers Direct dumping of waste materials Mining of metal ores Lack of strict Regulations and Observations Acts Runoff from the Land Cargo related accidents	Marine Life Extinction Adverse Effects on Human health Poor Oceanic Scenery Destruction of the coral reefs Loss of livelihood of the small fisheries and fishermen Destruction of natural habitats of marine life Loss of the marine biodiversity

News Article: Eastern Pacific Ocean Plastic Pollution

Eastern garbage patch - Concentrations of marine debris have been noted in an area midway between Hawaii and California known as the North Pacific Subtropical High or the "eastern garbage patch." These patches contain a lot of our garbage because ocean currents have moved the waste to accumulate in these areas. Much of the debris is actually small pieces of micro plastic that are not immediately evident to the naked eye.

Why is there plastic in the ocean?

Human created plastic ends up in the ocean accidentally, on purpose, and by mismanaged waste practices. Some waste is from plastics pieces already made to be small: microbeads in face wash can be plastic. Some tiny plastic pieces were once longer plastic items which have just broken down to be small. "Plastic never really go away. They just break down over and over and over again until they become smaller and smaller from sunlight and other environmental factors (like) waves, big storms, those kind of things".

General Causes of Plastic Waste in Oceans

There are a variety of causes to plastics ending up in oceans but one thing in common with these causes is that most of them are controlled by human beings. Here is a list of those causes:

• Land Based sources
• Urban & storm runoff
• Sewer overflows
• Beach visitors
• Inadequate waste disposal & management
• Industrial activities
• Construction
• Illegal dumping
• Ocean based sources
• Fishing industry
• Nautical activities
• Aquaculture

Why is it bad to have plastic waste in oceans?

Some species of birds & fish eat the plastics because they look like food. There are chemicals in the plastics & these can absorb other chemicals floating around in the ocean while the plastic is in the creature's stomach, making them more sick. Debris found in any region of the ocean can easily be ingested by marine species potentially causing choking, starvation, and other impairments. Ocean ecosystems are extremely important to humans due to ecosystem services such as fishing, recreation and medicine. Harming ocean ecosystems is a huge economic and intrinsic loss to humans.