Marine debris, from lost fishing lines to empty bleach bottles, has always been an issue, as anyone who has lived on a coastline knows. But microplastic is quickly emerging as the most problematic, threatening wildlife, human health and entire ecosystems.

A recent European Commission report suggests that approximately 10 per cent of the global plastic manufactured each year (265 million tonnes) ends up in the oceans or other water systems. Plastic does not biodegrade fully: it photo-degrades into tiny particles that release toxic chemicals used in its production. Densities have been recorded at 100,000 particles per square meter. And fish, birds and marine mammals mistake it for food, clogging their digestive systems with garbage. Plastic makes its way up the food chain, right to the human dinner table.

Scientists have even coined a new term to describe it: the “plastisphere” is here. In some oceanic areas the plastic is so thick that organisms have begun evolving there, as if it were a new, toxic, ecosystem. Sadly, our precious Great Lakes may not be far behind.

Recent evidence suggests we face a similar plague of plastic, much of it derived from microbeads used for largely cosmetic purposes: facial exfoliators, body scrubs, even toothpaste. Massive consumption of these products has sent plastic from bathroom drains to lake basins. Lakes Erie and Ontario seem hardest hit but all the lakes are acting as reservoirs for this toxic collection. Since getting the plastic out is an engineer’s nightmare, stopping the deluge is of urgent necessity.

We need at least three thrusts of action here.

First, state and provincial governments must step up and ban the use of these products. Illinois has recently passed legislation designed to protect Lake Michigan, but, rather foolishly, it won’t take effect until 2018-19. Other states are thinking it over; we need Ontario in particular to act fast. A coalition of more than 100 mayors has already demanded action.

Second, we need to renegotiate the Canada-U.S. Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and add a specific annex on all plastic wastes, so Canada and the United States are committing to co-operative monitoring and national legislation. Similarly, Ottawa should support international efforts to research and employ solutions to this global problem.

Third, it is up to us as citizens to put an end to this. We are as addicted to the use of plastic, a petroleum by-product mixed with many varieties of chemicals, as ever. We love its resilience, its flexibility, its convenience. Billions of orphaned plastic bags float in oceans and lakes like thick schools of jellyfish. We can’t even see the microbead threat, but now that we know it is there, individual responsibility ensues.

Convenience be damned; we need fresh water and healthy fish. Don’t buy things with polyethylene in the ingredients if you can avoid it (more and more alternatives are emerging). Don’t just walk by those plastic bags some thoughtless person left on the street; pick them up and discard them properly.

Let’s ensure the Great Lakes and all our bodies of water avoid the plastisphere.

Peter Stoett is professor of political science and the director of the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre, Concordia University, Montreal.

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