Plastic pollution in coastal marine environment-a review

The coastal marine environment plays a vital role in India’s Economy by virtual of its natural resources, potential habitats and wide Biodiversity. This review article summarizes sources, occurrences, fate and effects/ impacts of plastics debris in coastal marine environment due to its resistance to degradation. Most plastics debris will persist in the environment for centuries and may be transported far from its sources including great distances out to sea. Land and oceans based sources are the major sources of plastics entering the environment, with domestic, industrial and fishing activities being the most important contributors. Both macro plastics and micro plastics pose a risk to organisms in the natural environment, for example, through ingestion or entanglement in the plastics. Many studies have investigated the potential uptake of hydrophobic contaminants, which can then bioaccumulate in the food chain from plastic wastes by organisms. A large numbers of marine species is known to be harmed and /or killed by plastic debris, which could jeopardize their survival, especially since many are already endangered by other forms of anthropogenic activities. Marine animals are mostly affected through entanglement in and ingestion of plastic litter. Other less known threats include the use of plastic debris by “invader” species and the absorption of polychlorinated biphenyls from ingested plastics. Less conspicuous forms, such as plastic pellets and “scrubbers” are also hazardous. To address the issue of plastic pollution in the marine environment, governments should first play an active role in addressing the issue of plastic waste by introducing legislation to control the sources of plastic debris and the use of plastic additives. In addition, plastic industries should take responsibility for the end-of-life of their products by introducing plastic recycling or upgrading programme