Plastic Pollution in Ocean

This paper discusses the wicked problem of plastic pollution in the ocean, its impact on society and the environment, and past attempts at solutions. It also explores current initiatives to mitigate this issue.

Running head: PLASTIC POLLUTION IN OCEAN
PLASTIC POLLUTION IN OCEAN
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The aim of this paper is to discuss the wicked problem of increasing plastic pollution
in the ocean and how it is affecting the society and environment in a negative way. The
Wicked problem is a problem which is difficult as well as impossible for solving because it
has an incomplete, changing and contradictory requirements which people often feel to
discuss or recognise. The use of the term weekend refers to the resistance to the resolution.
The solution of these problems are nearly impossible and their social complexity has no
determinable stopping point. Complex and wicked problems have no single solution but some
solutions are preferable to the others. Some of the wicked problems are easily defined
because not everything is not about this problem. Therefore, the assumptions are needed for
filling up the knowledge and finding solution for the wicked problems.
According to Osborn-Parnes creative problem solving method, there are basically
three stages followed to solve the wicked problem. First is the fact finding, second is idea
finding and third is solution finding. This paper will focus on the first factor of fact finding by
reviewing the cause and size of the problem and understand the past attempts at the solution.
In the case of the wicked problem related to the increased plastic pollution in the
oceans of the world, Sigler (2014), has pointed out that the majority of the consumer products
are comprised of plastic. Almost to 80 million of plastic materials are being produced and
only that ends up in the land feeling for in the oceans. These plastics are lightweight, durable
and inexpensive therefore this become very harmful for the wildlife especially when leads to
the landfills or in the oceans. When this plastics are waterborne, they reach the wildlife under
the water which mainly cause entanglement ok, carry invasive species and death from
ingestion. This is the reason why the organisations like Ocean Cleanup are taking most
drastic approaches through launching floater for trapping some of the plastics in the ocean
water. This type of organisations are using cutting edge Technologies for monitoring as well

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as weather in the plastics in the environment and trying to convert them back into oil so that it
can reduce the damages in the ecosystem.
As pointed out by Siante-Rose et al. (2016), the effect of the plastic pollution on the
Marine ecosystems have been illustrating the public’s concern from the end of the 20th
century. This study has referred to The Ocean Cleanup Foundation that is emerging
technologies for extracting, preventing and intercepting the plastic debris from the ocean and
coastal environment. Factors in the field efficiency that is the quantity of ocean plastic
removed per length of the floating home has been elaborated where the spatial and temporal
sales span over the several orders of magnitude.
Similarly Wills et al. (2018), have argued that there are several question regarding the
waste abatement campaigns as well as government policies in the reduction of plastic waste
in the marine environment. According to him the plastic production has been increasing and
supporting the rise of plastic wastes lost in the coastal and marine environment as a result the
ecosystem balance of these areas near the sea or ocean life has been suffering. In order to find
this issue there are several policies of the government which target specific category of
plastic wastes like plastic shopping bags and micro beads. The anthropogenic causes have
negative environmental impacts hence they are reducing the income of the tourism area,
resulting in the health issues and identifying effective investment policies for reducing plastic
wastes before these enter the oceans (McCallum 2018). This study is only focused on the
Australian government and its policy of zero waste strategy and recycling strategy which aim
to target the human behaviour for reducing plastic wastes. Australia programs to face issues
like illegal dumping, recycling, litter prevention, education and clean-up have an effectively
reduced the waste along the coast line of the councils. Additional the councils which invested
in the waste management budgets have fewer waste items on coastline with its jurisdiction.

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On the other hand the scholars like Mendenhall (2018) has pointed out that that the
human beings do not possess much knowledge about the effect of the plastics affecting the
ocean water and flora and fauna in them. Therefore, much remains unknown about the marine
plastic debris. Similarly, the government is also not aware of the emergency of the plastic
debris in the oceans hence creation and implementation of the effective policy responses are
absent in most of the cases. The facts relating how the plastic can be cleaned up from the
ocean water therefore lies in question by the related communities who live near the coastal
area of the countries and the people depending upon the sea lives. Cressey (2016), in his
study published in the Nature journal, have found out the initiatives of the communities to
clean up oceans have been started to be taken and the government and communities of
Hawaii Island has started to collect bottles, fishing nets, ropes, shoes and toothbrushes
supported by ocean currents and local eddies. This have reduced the problems of killing
aquatic animals, polluting sea water through making it acidic and affecting the ocean soil
polluted.
Therefore, it can be concluded that the wicked problem of plastic affecting the
wildlife of the oceans are being attempted for last two decades. Complex and wicked
problems have no single solution but some solutions are preferable to the others. However,
the expansion of the oceanic region and intensity of the issues is so far reaching that the
solution of this problem has become nearly impossible. Plastics persists for years, killing the
animals, blighting coastlines and polluting environment. However, there are several
organostions working to mitigate this wicked problem and the governments have taken
initiatives to prevent ocean pollution through plastics but the change in the human behaviour
for reducing plastic wastes is necessary to solve this wicked problem.

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References:
Cressey, Daniel. "Bottles, bags, ropes and toothbrushes: the struggle to track ocean
plastics." Nature News 536, no. 7616 (2016): 263.
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In Proceedings of the International Conference on Microplastic Pollution in the
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McCallum, Will. How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Changing the World, One Plastic
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Mendenhall, Elizabeth. "Oceans of plastic: a research agenda to propel policy
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