Why Do Oceans Contain More Plastic Than Fish

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According to the article, “Oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050,” (CNBC) the production of plastics, be it for toys, water bottles, etc., has increased twentyfold since 1964. All of the waste resulting from the production of plastic is creating a negative externality of production (When the production of a good creates spill over costs for society as a whole born by the producer of that good). The plastic talked about in the article is a demerit good (a good or service that creates a negative externality for society.) The negative externality that the plastic is creating is pollution in our oceans, it occurs because the marginal social costs (MSC) of production are greater than the marginal private costs (MPC) of production. At the MPC, the producer sells at the equilibrium price, and produces the at the equilibrium quantity – …show more content…
These can also be seen as pros resulting from the internalization of the negative externalities. Some of the cons, on the other hand, include increased prices for items made of plastic, and the need to recycle often, taking up time out of your day. Society, especially beach goers, benefits from this internalization of externalities because they can live in a cleaner world with less pollution and cleaner beaches and oceans. Not only society benefits in this way, the underwater creatures and the birds do too because their homes can be cleaner and filled with less plastic, and there is a reduced risk of deaths from plastic, like a seagull getting caught in a 6-pack ring. The sellers do not benefit as much, financially, because they aren’t making as much money producing plastic, unless they start producing reusable and recyclable plastic which they can resell, as long as people do their part and