The danger and threat are real: litter in the sea causes environmental, economic and beachgoer damage , which is why the insistence on this issue is so urgent and current, given that with the coronavirus pandemic the use of disposable materials has increased, contributing to further polluting beaches and oceans . A study conducted by the University of Queensland in Australia indicates that ocean pollution, mainly by plastics , is responsible for the death of around 100,000 animals every year. According to the president of the board of the MarBrasil Association, Ariel Scheffer, around 700 marine species are affected by plastic pollution in the seas, including more than 260 species under some degree of threat of extinction . “Many animals get tangled up and injured when they come into contact with this type of material, but the main problem is the ingestion of plastic , which is not a natural element in the digestive tract and ends up causing death,” explained Ariel Scheffer. (gallinago_media | iStock)
Even during the pandemic, people continue to visit beaches and dispose of disposable materials, especially masks, in an irregular manner . This was reported by the Argonauta Institute for Coastal and Marine Conservation, which identified the problem on beaches in Ubatuba, Ilhabela and other cities on the coast of São Paulo. “Masks have organic and synthetic components, and incorrect disposal can pose a risk to human health, because a mask from someone who is infected can still contain the virus for some time , and they pose a risk to marine fauna, like all solid human waste in general,” explains oceanographer Hugo Gallo Neto, executive director of the Ubatuba Aquarium and the Argonauta Institute. Máscaras de proteção são descartadas em praias do litoral paulista (Reprodução/CASACOR)
In addition to impacting marine species, waste discarded on beaches also interferes with the lives of bathers, who can be injured by certain objects. Dirt also reduces bathing suitability, which is the index used to verify the quality of water intended for recreation . As a result, it becomes unsuitable for bathing and can lead to contamination by skin diseases . Mutirão de limpeza na Praia do Francês, em Alagoas. (Reprodução)
But the problem is not just with so-called “macroplastics,” which are easily visible to people and animals. Plastic particles smaller than five millimeters, called “microplastics,” can be indirectly ingested by fish, birds, turtles and marine mammals, taking six times longer to be eliminated from the body than macroplastics, which are ingested directly. Microplásticos encontrados no mar (Reprodução/CASACOR)
In many cases, these microplastics enter the human food chain when humans eat seafood. “Of the animals found dead, 100% of green turtles and 75% of seabirds have some type of plastic in their stomachs,” explains Ariel Scheffer, president of the board of the MarBrasil Association. Finally, marine litter also affects the economy of municipalities , which have to increase spending on beach cleaning and lose revenue from tourism. In the shipping and fishing sectors, productivity tends to decrease due to the death of fish and the pollution of the oceans , caused by this irregularly discarded waste. 
