Chapter 17. Solid Waste

What are some of the environmental consequences of our waste...?

Why You Should Care

We create waste from our industries, our agriculture, and our own consumption. Most of these wastes are too heavy to blow, float, or be dragged away. Some wastes are light enough that this can happen, and those wastes end up impacting the environment far away from where they were produced or disposed of.

The most common waste to escape disposal is plastic. It is light, has a low density, and is fairly nondegradable and, therefore, often shows up in distant ecosystems. In the Pacific Ocean, plastic floats on and near the surface of the water. Here, it floats and creates “plastic islands” that attract fish, invertebrates like shellfish, and birds with the promise of food, habitat, and other species. Unfortunately, these plastic patches degrade into smaller pieces that are ingested by the animals, clogging and ultimately poisoning them.