Management of Marine Plastic Debris and Microplastics

Marine plastic debris are becoming an emerging global environmental threat. This chapter emphasizes the status of marine plastic pollution and management approaches. Plastic pollutants are mainly classified based on the size as degrading large plastic items that form nanoplastics (1–100 nm: 0.001–0.1 μm) and microplastics (0.1–5,000 μm). These synthetic particles drift over long distances through ocean circulation and accumulate in coastal and remote marine regions (trash convergence zones/gyres). Marine plastic pollution poses disturbing environmental, ecological, economic, social, and health risks at different scales. This issue needs urgent international, regional, and national level attention to regulate entry points of plastics into the ocean. Plastic management actions are mainly focused on the prevention of disposal of plastic litter, reduction of the load of plastic waste, removal, recovery, recycling, and reusing of plastics, ecological rights and responsibilities, and promoting an eco-friendly lifestyle and behavioral change. In developing countries, the existing marine plastic management regime includes multiple gaps and limitations in addressing this issue effectively. This chapter attempts to address these management gaps by proposing different applicable best practices with respect to policy framework and instrumentation, governance, legal enforcement, monitoring, and public awareness while emphasizing innovative technological green solutions.