Could Proper Treatment of Sewage Save the Environment?

Untreated sewage being callously dispensed into the sea occurs more often than you would think. According to MARPOL regulations, untreated sewage can be dispensed twelve miles from the coast. If you don’t think this is far enough, you’re not alone. There are a lot of negative impacts that untreated sewage could have on the environment it’s discharged in.

Oxygen For Marine Life

Marine life and other aquatic mammals are arguably the most affected when it comes to sewage being discharged into the water. As well as it being possibly uncomfortable and unpleasant for them, there are very real dangers for underwater creatures as well.

When sewage decomposes, it eats away at the oxygen underwater. This makes the amount oxygen animals may receive, insufficient, and many of them do die from this.

Health Risk For Humans

Untreated sewage can pose a risk to public health as we could consume contaminated food from the ocean. Also swimmers could suffer ill effects from close contact to harmful bacteria caused by untreated sewage.

Could We Save The Seas If We Stopped?

Environmental scientists predict a huge increase in the negative effects caused by untreated sewage in as little as the next ten years if something isn’t done.

If we made new laws that protected the oceans, marine life and humans from the effects of pollution and made small changes to allow only treated sewage into the ocean, we could potentially stop the danger before it happens. No one wants the sea to turn into an open sewage system or a landfill.

With just a few changes to the way we handle pollution, we could save countless lives and the beauty and health of our environment.

How can you help? Find out how to dispense of waste in an environmentally friendly way that’s good for everybody. Contact Bates Environmental today on a contacts page for more information on how to be green.