In B. Sc. thesis we tried to explore impacts of plastic and microplastic on marine animals and show the gravity of this problem. After inspection of all sources, we can point out the most important facts. There are 5 plastic islands in world oceans. The problem is that large amounts of microplastics (fin whales on average 3653 particles per day, basking sharks on average 13,110 pieces per day) are filtered by marine filtrators. Sea birds, sea turtles and marine mammals are the most documented species affected by plastic waste. They entangle in plastic waste or confuse them for food, leading to limited movement, decreased consumption, degraded reproductive capacity, gastrointestinal ulcers and death. We are not yet aware of all the effects that plastic and microplastic particles have on us. There are currently few solutions available.and just using more efficient and more sustainable waste management will not help to fully resolve this problem. Unfortunately, even biodegradable plastic is not a complete solution. A lot of research and resources will have to be invested into the research of environmental problems of plastic and microplastic waste, to understand its scale.
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