The Price Tag of Plastic Pollution

Marine litter notoriously affects the ecosystems of our world’s waterways. As a result, industries such as fisheries and tourism, and even governments, continue to experience sustained economic impacts. To date, few studies have explored the topic of marine litter costs, which limits the ability of local governments to assess the problem and propose solutions or alternative legislation to address the problem.

Microplastics are some of the most dangerous forms of marine litter. Because these tiny particles resemble food, animals mistakenly ingest these chemical-laden plastics. The impact of this consumption extends throughout the food chain. As a result, fisheries suffer a substantial loss in reserves, harvest, and income, which has led to farmers filing for bankruptcy as part of the fallout.

As mismanaged waste wreaks havoc on our waterways and coasts, vast health risks and complications rise for animals and humans alike. Coupled with a deteriorating aesthetic value to littered coastlines, these impacts result in reduced tourism activity and loss of livelihood for tourism-related businesses. Since coastal nations rely on marine tourism, this is an important sector of the overall economic impact.

Local governments play an instrumental role in setting up waste management, collection, and its infrastructures. In this study, we modeled the government as the primary orchestrator for cleanup activities and its associated costs. Although the scope of the study is limited to coastal countries, we identified four cleanup areas of interest: coastlines, waterways, marinas, and ports.