Earth Science – Marine Dumping

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Earth Science – Marine Dumping Marine dumping refers to the deliberate disposal of wastes at sea or other matter from aircraft, vessels, platforms, and other man-made structures. It also entails the deliberate disposal of these vessels or platforms themselves. Marine dumping is likely to destroy or degrade some important habitats for the aquatic species and cause coastal salutation and erosion, which affect the productivity ad heath of the marine environment.

There are various ways in which humans have caused the problem. First, it is through the cargo activities at the ports. Dumping sometimes takes place from the cargo that sweeps from the ships as they leave the port. It may also occur during the removal of wastes such as slag, limestone, and coal from the deck. This is one of the unstoppable activities that contribute to dumping in the oceans.

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The problem is also caused by carelessness in terms of sewer and industrial waste dumping. This has increased the magnitude and scale of ocean dumping, especially considering the volume of sewage that is coming from homes, industries, sewage, and factories. As a result of carelessness, wastes from sewers and industries are not treated before they are discharged into the ocean. Some sewer drainage systems also run directly into the ocean with dangerous materials.

Another cause is the direct dumping of waste materials. Non-degradable and other materials are sometimes dumped into the waters. This qualifies as one of the major contributing factors to ocean dumping because the moment materials are introduced into the oceans, they last there for hundreds and thousands of years (Sharma, Aloysius & Visvanathan, 2019). Other activities include the mining of metal ores, spillage into the water bodies, among others.

The problem is prevalent throughout the world, especially in Asian countries. An example here is Indonesia's Citarum River, which has been blackened by debris beyond recognition. The river has been dubbed as the most polluted river in the world. Countries such as China, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam are reportedly dumping into the oceans than the rest of the world combined, as pointed by the 2017 ocean conservancy report. Plastics are said to pose some of the greatest environmental challenges that are facing the world currently. A country like the U.S has wasted about 33.6 million tons of plastic, and only about 9 percent of these are recycled (Sharma, Aloysius & Visvanathan, 2019).

The problem is very destructive in the sense that the dumped materials kill marine life and choke the seabirds. The toxic fragments are also likely to end up in the seafood that we eat.

It may also require decades in order to breakdown. Other effects of marine dumping include loss of biodiversity, loss of livelihood for many people, decreased tourism, health effects, and

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destruction of coral reefs, endangerment of species, visual pollution, and endangerment of species, among others (Brenton, 2019).

There also exist various solutions that can be tapped in order to solve the problem. There is a need to initiate better control mechanisms to prevent industries from dumping excessive amounts of waste in the oceans. There is also a need to improve on knowledge about the topic to sensitize the concerned parties on the effects of disposal and the need to prevent the disposal of hazardous materials into the oceans. Other solutions include adjusting consumption behavior and higher fines for illegal dumping.

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References Brenton, T. (2019). The greening of Machiavelli: the evolution of international environmental politics (Vol. 4). Routledge.

Sharma, A., Aloysius, V., & Visvanathan, C. (2019). Recovery of plastics from dumpsites and landfills to prevent marine plastic pollution in Thailand. Waste Disposal & Sustainable Energy, 1-13.

Zheng, L., Cui, W., Song, W., Qu, L., Yuan, Y., & Yang, D. (2012). The biological effects of the marine dumping on mollusks. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 16, 118-124.