GLOBAL GRAND CHALLENGE
PLASTIC IN THE SEA COSTS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS
We all know that one of the biggest threats to the marine environment is man-made pollution: plastic tops the list with an estimated eight million tonnes entering our oceans every year. However, what is less understood is the economic impact – marine plastic costs human society billions of dollars every year in damaged and lost resources.
As well as the devastating effect plastics have on our ecological and marine systems, they also directly and indirectly impact society.
Dr Kayleigh Wyles
In the first study of its kind, researchers from Surrey, in collaboration with the Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the University of Stirling and the Arctic University of Norway, investigated the social and economic impact of plastics in the sea.
Fisheries, aquaculture, recreational activities and global wellbeing are all negatively affected by plastic pollution, with an estimated one to five per cent decline in the benefit humans derive from the oceans. Examples include the contamination of the food chain by marine species ingesting plastic, which has a
detrimental effect on commercial fisheries, and the impact of coastline litter which has a range of economic costs, from clean-up expenses to loss of tourism revenue.
The resulting global loss in such benefits, known as the marine ecosystem value, equates to $500-$2,500 billion.
Dr Kayleigh Wyles, Lecturer in Environmental Psychology at Surrey, said: “As well as the devastating effect plastics have on our ecological and marine systems, they also directly and indirectly impact society. However, until now we have not been able to demonstrate these impacts holistically.
“Quantifying the enormous tangible and intangible costs associated with marine plastic waste can only help to make the case for devoting our attention and resources now to protecting the seas for future generations to enjoy.”
surrey.ac.uk/subjects/psychology
Kayleigh at a waste disposal centre in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway, with one of the mountains of marine rubbish collected as a result of numerous clean-up schemes
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Forever Surrey 2019
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