Microplastic pollution in river Ganga

Context

• Delhi-based NGO Toxics Link has released a study titled, “Quantitative analysis of Microplastics along River Ganga”, found that the river Ganga is heavily polluted with microplastics.

What are microplastics?

• Microplasticsare very small pieces of plastic that pollute the environment. 
• Microplastics are not any specific kind of plastic, but a rather varied type of plastic that is less than 5 mm in length.

What is the Classification of microplastics?

Two classifications of microplastics exist.

1. Primary microplastics: They are plastic fragments or particles that are 0 mm in size or less before entering the environment. Examples:microfibers from clothing, microbeads, and plastic pellets.
2. Secondary microplastics: They are microplastics created from the degradation of larger plastic products once they enter the environment through natural weathering processes. Examples:water and soda bottles, fishing nets, and plastic bags.

Sources of microplastics

• Sewage treatment plants, Car and truck tires, Cosmetics industry, Plastic bottles, Clothing, Manufacturing, Fishing industry, Packaging and shipping, Face masks, etc.
• Environmental impacts of microplastics
• Biological integration into organisms:Microplastics can become embedded in animals' tissue by ingestion or respiration. Various annelid species and molluscs have microplastics embedded in their gastrointestinal tracts.
• Persistent organic pollutants:Plastic particles may concentrate and transport synthetic organic compounds (e.g. persistent organic pollutants, POPs). Microplastics can act as the carriers for the transfer of POPs from the environment to the organisms.
• Buoyant biofilm layer: Microplastics can also form a buoyant biofilm layer on the ocean's surface.
• Impact on marine species:Microplastics are harmful to marine species as well. Around more than 663 marine species are said to be affected by marine debris and 11 percent of them are expected to be related to themicroplastic ingestion

What are the proposed solutions?

• Incinerating plastics to use as the energy that is known as energy recovery.
• Recycling plastics
• Increasing education through recycling campaigns
• Biodegradation

Efforts to clean the Ganga

• In May 2015, the government approved the Namami Gange program to clean and protect the river.
• It is a 100 percent central government-funded program.
• Ganga Action Plan (GAP) in 1985.
• The IIT Consortium, in 2011, for water diversion and effective treatment.
• The National Mission for Clean Ganga in 2011.