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
Plastic straw and cotton bud ban proposed https://t.co/9IEZOno9v4
— BBC World Business (@BBCWorldBiz) April 19, 2018
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