Polymers in marine environment

Polymers, plastics, and composite materials are widely used in the shipping industry and so get exposed to marine waters. Biofouling of these leads to problems for ships and boats in the form of reduced speed and corrosion, which these industries would like to prevent. Several hundred thousand tons of plastics that are discarded reach the marine environment every year either from land run-off or because of maritime activities. It has been estimated that because plastics do not degrade easily, one million marine animals are killed every year either by choking on floating plastic items or by bec.