Plastic as a Devastation of the Marine Environment

Marine litter is any solid material discarded, manufactured or transformed, disposed of or abandoned in the marine-coastal environment (UNEP, 2009). Millions of tons of plastic are produced every year in the world and a good part of this non-degradable material ends up in the oceans where it remains for centuries. As for the Mediterranean Sea, the situation is even more worrying because of the huge discards into the sea coming from the large merchant ships that intensely cross it, from the intense fishing activity. The main plastics that pollute the marine environment include the so-called macroplastics (bottles, plates, glasses and various packaging) which progressively reduce to the less known microplastics (fragments ranging in sizes from 0.1 μm to 5 mm) and, in the long, even run also nanoplastics with dimensions (0.001-0.1 μm). Thanks to the promotion of technical- scientific culture in schools of all levels, these are involved with initiatives provided to encourage communication with the world of research and production. This means increasing widespread attention on the importance of science and technology for daily life and for the sustainable development of society, promoting greater respect for the environment. All this contrasts "bad practices" in terms of environmental aggression. In conclusion, solutions must be introduced to reduce the phenomenon of abandonment of plastics which then end up in the sea by both private and public entities.