Editing Biodegradation (section)

== Environmental and social effects ==
[[Plastic pollution]] from illegal dumping poses health risks to wildlife. Animals often mistake plastics for food, resulting in intestinal entanglement. Slow-degrading chemicals, like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), nonylphenol (NP), and pesticides also found in plastics, can release into environments and subsequently also be ingested by wildlife.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Webb|first1=Hayden|last2=Arnott|first2=Jaimys|last3=Crawford|first3=Russell|last4=Ivanova|first4=Elena|last5=Webb|first5=Hayden K.|last6=Arnott|first6=Jaimys|last7=Crawford|first7=Russell J.|last8=Ivanova|first8=Elena P.|name-list-style=vanc|date=2012-12-28|title=Plastic Degradation and Its Environmental Implications with Special Reference to Poly(ethylene terephthalate)|journal=Polymers|volume=5|issue=1|pages=1–18|doi=10.3390/polym5010001|doi-access=free|hdl=1959.3/356234|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

These chemicals also play a role in human health, as consumption of tainted food (in processes called biomagnification and bioaccumulation) has been linked to issues such as cancers,<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Kelly BC, Ikonomou MG, Blair JD, Morin AE, Gobas FA|title=Food web-specific biomagnification of persistent organic pollutants|journal=Science|volume=317|issue=5835|pages=236–9|date=July 2007|pmid=17626882|doi=10.1126/science.1138275|bibcode=2007Sci...317..236K|s2cid=52835862}}</ref> neurological dysfunction,<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Passos CJ, Mergler D|title=Human mercury exposure and adverse health effects in the Amazon: a review|journal=Cadernos de Saude Publica|volume=24|pages=s503–20|date=2008|issue=Suppl 4|pmid=18797727|doi=10.1590/s0102-311x2008001600004|doi-access=free}}</ref> and hormonal changes. A well-known example of biomagnification impacting health in recent times is the increased exposure to dangerously high levels of [[mercury in fish]], which can affect sex hormones in humans.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Rana SV|title=Perspectives in endocrine toxicity of heavy metals--a review|journal=Biological Trace Element Research|volume=160|issue=1|pages=1–14|date=July 2014|pmid=24898714|doi=10.1007/s12011-014-0023-7|bibcode=2014BTER..160....1R |s2cid=18562345}}</ref>

In efforts to remediate the damages done by slow-degrading plastics, detergents, metals, and other pollutants created by humans, economic costs have become a concern. Marine litter in particular is notably difficult to quantify and review.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Newman|first1=Stephanie|last2=Watkins|first2=Emma|last3=Farmer|first3=Andrew|last4=Brink|first4=Patrick ten|last5=Schweitzer|first5=Jean-Pierre|name-list-style=vanc|chapter=The Economics of Marine Litter|date=2015|title=Marine Anthropogenic Litter|pages=367–394|publisher=Springer International Publishing|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-16510-3_14|isbn=978-3-319-16509-7}}</ref> Researchers at the [[World Trade Institute]] estimate that cleanup initiatives' cost (specifically in ocean ecosystems) has hit close to thirteen billion dollars a year.<ref name= "Matsangou_2018">{{cite news|first=Elizabeth|last=Matsangou|name-list-style=vanc|date=2 July 2018|url=https://www.worldfinance.com/markets/counting-the-cost-of-plastic-pollution|title=Counting the cost of plastic pollution|access-date=17 September 2018|work=World Finance|archive-date=17 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917215550/https://www.worldfinance.com/markets/counting-the-cost-of-plastic-pollution|url-status=live}}</ref> The main concern stems from marine environments, with the biggest cleanup efforts centering around garbage patches in the ocean. The [[Great Pacific Garbage Patch]], a garbage patch the size of Mexico, is located in the Pacific Ocean. It is estimated to be upwards of a million square miles in size. While the patch contains more obvious examples of litter (plastic bottles, cans, and bags), tiny [[microplastics]] are nearly impossible to clean up.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Rochman CM, Cook AM, Koelmans AA|title=Plastic debris and policy: Using current scientific understanding to invoke positive change|journal=Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry|volume=35|issue=7|pages=1617–26|date=July 2016|pmid=27331654|doi=10.1002/etc.3408|doi-access=free|bibcode=2016EnvTC..35.1617R }}</ref> ''National Geographic'' reports that even more non-biodegradable materials are finding their way into vulnerable environments – nearly thirty-eight million pieces a year.<ref>{{cite news|first=Shaena|last=Montanari|name-list-style=vanc|url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/ocean-plastic-patch-south-pacific-spd/|title=Plastic Garbage Patch Bigger Than Mexico Found in Pacific|date=2017-07-25|access-date=2018-09-17|work=National Geographic|archive-date=2018-09-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917215457/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/07/ocean-plastic-patch-south-pacific-spd/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Materials that have not degraded can also serve as shelter for invasive species, such as tube worms and barnacles. When the ecosystem changes in response to the invasive species, resident species and the natural balance of resources, genetic diversity, and species richness is altered.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Gregory MR|title=Environmental implications of plastic debris in marine settings--entanglement, ingestion, smothering, hangers-on, hitch-hiking and alien invasions|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences|volume=364|issue=1526|pages=2013–25|date=July 2009|pmid=19528053|pmc=2873013|doi=10.1098/rstb.2008.0265}}</ref> These factors may support local economies in way of hunting and aquaculture, which suffer in response to the change.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Villarrubia-Gómez P, Cornell SE, Fabres J|date=2018-10-01|title=Marine plastic pollution as a planetary boundary threat – The drifting piece in the sustainability puzzle|journal=Marine Policy|language=en|volume=96|pages=213–220|doi=10.1016/j.marpol.2017.11.035|doi-access=free|bibcode=2018MarPo..96..213V }}</ref> Similarly, coastal communities which rely heavily on [[ecotourism]] lose revenue thanks to a buildup of pollution, as their beaches or shores are no longer desirable to travelers. The World Trade Institute also notes that the communities who often feel most of the effects of poor biodegradation are poorer countries without the means to pay for their cleanup.<ref name= "Matsangou_2018" /> In a positive feedback loop effect, they in turn have trouble controlling their own pollution sources.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Hajat A, Hsia C, O'Neill MS|title=Socioeconomic Disparities and Air Pollution Exposure: a Global Review|journal=Current Environmental Health Reports|volume=2|issue=4|pages=440–50|date=December 2015|pmid=26381684|pmc=4626327|doi=10.1007/s40572-015-0069-5|bibcode=2015CEHR....2..440H }}</ref>