Economics

Study Notes

External Costs of Pollution from Plastic

Level:: GCSE, AS, A Level, IB

Board:: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, IB, Eduqas, WJEC

Last updated 5 Oct 2018

There is growing and widespread evidence of the damage caused by plastic pollution especially in oceans.

One truckload of plastic is dumped into the ocean every minute
By 2050, the weight of plastic will likely outweigh that of fish
Only a small amount of plastic is currently recycled
Plastic marine litter disintegrates into tiny pieces and ends up in food

Around 8 million tonnes of plastic is dumped into the sea every year, affecting the lives of so many creatures. 😢 #BluePlanet2 pic.twitter.com/gG1fqIDVnw
— BBC One (@BBCOne) November 19, 2017

Examples of government policy interventions to address the problem of plastic pollution

Banning microbeads from consumer products
Bans on plastic cotton buds and other products
Plastic bag charge/ tax to reduce single use bags
Encourage businesses to develop recyclable polymers
Provide free drinking water in cafes / restaurants / public places
Refundable deposit schemes on plastic bottles

Market failure analysis diagram

Microplastic in the ocean might be altering the brains of fish and their behavior. https://t.co/QeWkaoD4BI #plasticpollution #SaveOurOceans pic.twitter.com/aYjpHG8upm
— Ocean Generation (@oceangen_) October 11, 2017