The dumping of plastic at sea has increased so critically that scientists say that now more is dumped every year than was even produced annually in the 1960s.
Each foot of the world’s coastlines now has on average the equivalent of five plastic shopping bags which themselves are full of more plastic, according to scientists.
The plastic waste may start in uncontrolled landfills or thrown out of cars and onto streets, but it can make its way to the shoreline and eventually to the high seas.
Experts found that in 2010 some eight million metric tons of plastic entered seas and oceans as a direct result of people living within 30 miles of coastlines.
This, explained the leader of the study, “is the equivalent to finding five grocery bags full of plastic on every foot of coastline in the 192 countries we examined.”
Biodegrading can take five to 10 years, or more, according to Jenna Jambeck.
Turtles, sea birds and fish can mistake the debris for food. An estimated 86% of turtle species, 43% of seabird species, and 44% of marine mammals have plastics in their gut.
The research is the first time the scale of the problem has been revealed. Although plastic pollution in the ocean was first reported in the early 1970s, there were no rigorous studies of the amount and origins until now.
Countries are partly at fault for not implementing stricter policies or organising beach clear ups.
The research was published in the journal Science and also presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual conference in California.
This 2008 photo shows debris in Hanauma Bay, Hawaii. A new study estimates nearly 270,000 tons of plastic is floating in the world’s oceans. (Uncredited NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center file)
