Marine Plastic pollution has great economic and societal repercussions. Industries like tourism, fishing, real estate rely on marine environments and marine pollution can eradicate these economic opportunities.
- The United States lost $255 Million in revenue due to plastic pollution in 2018 (Deloitte)
- Polluted waters can cause real estate prices to drop by 25% according to the EPA
- Economic damage to marine ecosystems due to plastic pollution amounts to nearly US$13 Billion (UNEP)
- By 2030, ocean-related industries would employ over 40 Million people worldwide (OECD)
Marine ecosystems also have immense cultural significance to communities and plastic pollution poses a threat to the cultural heritage and history we have preserved over time.
The following graph by Deloitte highlights the huge costs of cleaning up plastic pollution which shows that prevention is truly better than cure! If we were to simply limit the amount of plastic entering the oceans, we won’t have to shell millions of dollars in then correcting our wrong!
We are bound to be adversely affected by the damage done to oceans due to plastic pollution whether today, tomorrow, directly or indirectly. We are going to suffer the consequences unless all of us work together and work now!
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Citations
Deloitte. (2020, March 19). Marine plastic pollution. Retrieved April 17, 2020, from https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/topics/strategy/marine-plastic-pollution.html
Plastic Disclosure Project (PDP) . (2014, June 23). Plastic Waste Causes Financial Damage of US$13 Billion to Marine Ecosystems Each Year as Concern Grows over Microplastics. Retrieved from https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/plastic-waste-causes-financial-damage-us13-billion-marine-ecosystems
