The Mediterranean is Now Full of More Microplastics Than Movie Stars

Thoughts of the Mediterranean often conjure dreams of glistening azure seas, gently rustling olive trees, hidden coves teeming with heaps of soft sand and quaint multicolour villages, shutters thrown open and facing towards this renowned sea. Yet at this rate, the next generation may have some very different images of the Mediterranean as it becomes one of the most polluted areas of ocean in the world. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch may no longer be the most plastic filled patch of ocean but actions are already in place to secure a better future for our sunny Mediterranean coastlines.

The Mediterranean represents only 0.8% of total global ocean yet it contains 17,000 species, 30% of global maritime traffic and now sadly, another great statistic; 7% of the world’s oceangoing microplastic. This high level of plastic comes from several sources. Firstly, the Mediterranean is bordered by over 20 countries from three different continents, all of which have varying sizes of coastal population and varying success in waste management. This large coastal population expands even more in the summer months when 200 million tourists descend, arms heavy with towels, deckchairs and snorkels. This causes a 40% increase in the population which puts waste companies under extreme pressure to cope with all the single use plastic we consume on our travels due to its convenience. A report by the WWF said that all Mediterranean countries hold some of the blame as each underperformed when managing plastic waste. Egypt was found to be the greatest contributor, followed by Turkey and then Italy which is the largest consumer of bottled water in world. These three countries contribute a mighty two-thirds of all the plastic waste found in the Mediterranean. In the whole region, only 72% of waste is properly managed by being sent to landfill, an incinerator or to a recycling plant; the rest winds up in uncontrolled landfills or is dumped illegally where it is easily whisked away by the wind to the sea.

The high level of shipping in the area also means plastic seeps straight down into our seas while abandoned fishing nets are also becoming increasingly common. Finally, rubbish is carried all the way to the Mediterranean via long winding rivers such as the Rhone and the Nile which empty their bursting heavy load of waste into the shimmering sea. The enclosed nature of the sea makes all these factors even worse as plastic spends much longer circulating within its borders than it normally would in the open sea. Some scientists say that all this plastic waste will wash back up on our umbrella-laden shores in several decades’ time before it eventually makes its way out into the next sea. Slowly, a new nickname is forming for this area; the plastic trap.

So how bad is this situation? A sailing expedition discovered that the most heavily polluted area floats just off South East Turkey where there is 31.3 kilograms of debris every one kilometre. It is thought that in the most degraded areas, the concentration of microplastics easily outweighs the tiny plastic particles found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, yet somehow the Mediterranean lies off our plastic radars. Unless action is taken, the level of plastic in this sea is thought to quadruple by 2050 which would have devastating impacts on local wildlife. Already, the Pelagos Marine Sanctuary to the south of France and Italy is in trouble. Despite all the hard work in the area to make it a safe space for marine mammals, plastic is once again defying our rules and breaking over our boundaries. Fin whales in the area have been found to have worryingly high levels of microplastics in their tissue which are the perfect breeding ground for a whole ecosystem of bacteria, not to mention the industrial chemicals coated onto their surface in production. All sea turtles in the area have been found with plastic in their stomachs, with one individual harbouring 150 pieces. 60 different species of fish have been entangled in ghost fishing lines alongside nine species of seabird. This problem really is alive and kicking as we speak but luckily, so are some of the solutions.

Governments have started taking action with some countries now deploying large floating barriers at the mouths of rivers on days when wastewater is released which aims to trap as many microplastics and microfibres as possible. This is a temporary solution until tiny filters can be placed within sewage outlets themselves to stop plastic ever leaving their walls. Plastic bags are slowly either being taxed or banned and if these common ocean offenders were banned in all Mediterranean countries, we could eliminate 95% of bag waste and raise up to €650 million per year for environmental purposes.

In addition, many innovative ocean-orientated companies have sprung up in the last decade with multiple products almost in our sight as they complete the final stages of testing, meaning the answer to our plastic problems could be sooner than you think. Bioplastics are almost ready to hit the mainstream market and these synthetic alternatives are made from organic waste such as inedible food, agricultural by-products and dirty paper. Bioplastics are compostable and harmlessly degrade in soil while other innovators are focussing on marine degradable plastic bags and films which, you guessed it, decompose naturally within the ocean. The impact this could have is looking promising as a queue of businesses are already on the waiting list for a contract which will overhaul their current unsustainable packaging. Other items like the Coraball have also been designed and are already in use to stop microfibres from our clothes flying from the washing machine into the air or ocean where they live invisibly for decades.

With so many ingenious products in the making, it’s up to us to decide to change our habits and commit to a new way of life. While we campaign for single use plastic bans in all Mediterranean countries to help stem the flow of plastic, we must also reduce, reuse, recycle and help redesign items ourselves. Whenever tourists are allowed back onto the golden shores of the Mediterranean, or indeed any coastal location, there are things you can do as a visitor to make a big difference to the plastic problem. For example, you can take a small cotton bag for life with you as you scour the shops for the perfect souvenir whilst also avoiding buying an unnecessary inflatable pool toy or bodyboard which will only have one or two uses. When painting the town red, you can take your own reusable water bottle and have a plastic free cocktail by refusing the straw and neon umbrella. Back at the hotel, you can steer clear of the mini toiletries plastic bottles which maybe contain a maximum of three uses while also asking what can locally be recycled. While many of these actions may have seemed odd 10 years ago, today many tourism organisations are getting behind eco-conscious travellers with Ryanair eliminating all non-recyclable plastics by 2023, while hotel group Iberostar have already made all their staff uniforms from recycled plastic and eliminated single use plastic from their rooms. Straws are now a common item banned by many tourist companies but don’t get hung up on this one move alone as all companies should be aspiring to much greater plastic reductions instead of using it as a new green selling point.

So as you can see, the problem is much worse than anyone expected, yet the solutions are already underway and until they burst out into mainstream practice, there are many things we as individuals can do to start the ball rolling. The Mediterranean is a unique area as it provides a convergence zone between different geographical, socio-economic and cultural regions. In this sense, it acts as a small scale version of the plastic issue we are facing on a global scale with hundreds of stakeholders all needing a solution which suits their lives. Following the story of our Mediterranean microplastic will show great insights into how our global problem could be tackled in the next few decades and hopefully the result will give us all inspiration in our battle against waste.

By Neve McCracken-Heywood