The Anthropocene, defined by human-induced environmental transformations, presents a critical challenge: plastic pollution. This complex problem, particularly prominent in coastal and marine environments, requires integrated and adaptive responses. This opinion paper examines global efforts across policy interventions, scientific innovations, and public education, highlighting both advancements and hurdles in managing this problem. These include enforcement limitations in policy implementation, scalability and cost issues in scientific innovations, and challenges in effecting large-scale behavioral change through public education. The complexities inherent in managing plastic litter in coastal and marine environments are further discussed, emphasizing the necessity for an integrated approach. This approach involves interdisciplinary collaboration, adaptive management, stakeholder engagement, policy integration, sustainable financing, resilience building, capacity enhancement, technological innovation, policy reform, ecosystem-based management, disaster risk reduction, and advocacy. The management of plastic pollution in the Anthropocene requires strategic planning, innovative thinking, and unified global efforts, ultimately providing an opportunity to redefine our relationship with the planet and steer toward a more sustainable future.

Due to its detrimental effects, notably on the well-being and biota of the ocean, microplastic contamination is becoming a bigger concern. Because of this, the issue of microplastics in the marine ecosystem is currently a major concern. The purpose of the study is to objectively evaluate the most recent data supporting the impact of microplastic contamination in seawater. When creating the standards for assessing the literature, P.I.C.O. was taken into account. For this inquiry, databases were selected and used throughout the data-collecting process. We checked PubMed, CINAHL, Google, Hinari, and the Cochrane Library. Boolean operators (AND, OR) and keywords were employed in the search to avoid oversaturating the data. Keywords used as per MeSH: Microplastic, plastics, seawater, ocean, pollution, microplastic exposure. The last five years (Since 2017) worth of studies were incorporated. Boolean search for relevant terms used. This limited my query to 188 records through various database searches. Several things were removed because they were unrelated to the study’s subject. Due to its detrimental impact on marine biota, the issue of microplastic contamination in the marine ecosystem is a current concern. Microplastics, which serve as a vector, become stuck with harmful pollutants. It is necessary to implement conservation management strategies and assistance for different educational programs to protect the environment from these hazardous microplastics. Humans are exposed to plastic waste when eating fish tainted with plastic. As a result, there are various outbreaks of chronic diseases, and people suffer the effects. The public’s education on the harmful effects of microplastics is a crucial need in this field. As a result, many inventions would be promoted to decrease the use and consumption of plastic and its products.

Plastics are the most rapidly growing materials in terms of production and consumption. The durability, inertness, light weight, flexibility, and low cost are the key characteristics that make plastic suitable for application in various fields, including the construction, automotive, electronics, and packaging industries. Due to widespread usage in daily life and many industrial processes and operations, more than 300 million tons of plastic waste are produced globally annually. Indiscriminate use of plastics such as polyethylene causes environmental pollution and impacts human health due to irreversible changes in the ecological cycle. Due to its low biodegradability, polyethylene accumulation has recently emerged as a momentous environmental concern. The conventional methods, such as recycling or disposing of polyethylene, are exorbitant, and incineration results in the emission of toxic chemical compounds. Therefore, the most recent research progressively focused on the biodegradation of polyethylene with the application of bacteria as novel approaches to counteract plastic waste. This review summarizes the type of polyethylene and the environmental issues. It also briefly discussed the genes and enzymes of bacteria involved in the degradation of polyethylene. In addition, it attempts to address factors influencing degradation and techniques used for monitoring degradation.