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The largest ocean-based source of plastic pollution is discarded fishing gear (including traps and nets), estimated to be up to 90% of plastic debris in some areas. [56] [57] Continental plastic litter enters the ocean largely through storm-water runoff, flowing into watercourses or directly discharged into coastal waters. [58]
The United States National Academy of Sciences estimated in 2022 that the worldwide entry of plastic into the ocean was 8 million metric tons of plastic per year. [63] A 2021 study by The Ocean Cleanup estimated that rivers convey between 0.8 and 2.7 million metric tons of plastic into the ocean, and ranked these river's countries. The top ten ...
Discarded plastic bags, six-pack rings, cigarette butts and other forms of plastic waste which finish up in the ocean present dangers to wildlife and fisheries. [52] Aquatic life can be threatened through entanglement, suffocation, and ingestion. [53] [54] [55] Fishing nets, usually made of plastic, can be left or lost in the ocean by fishermen.
Deja el Plastico (Ditch the Plastic) is aimed at reducing plastic pollution in California; its efforts helped lead to the passage of the state’s ban on single-use plastic bags in 2016.
The plastic data collected by the students at SEA validated Maximenko's model, and researchers were able to successfully predict plastic accumulation in the North Atlantic Ocean. [ 14 ] A recent study published in December 2022 investigated the microbial communities found in the North Atlantic Garbage Patch and compared the data to the Great ...
Plastics accounts for 80% of waste dispersed in the marine and coastal environment of the Mediterranean Sea. [24] Recent studies focus on the types of plastics found and primarily on the issue of microplastics, both at a global but also at a regional level, as in the case of the Mediterranean Sea, which was identified as a "target hotspot of the world" due to its amounts of microplastics ...
Plastic degradation in marine bacteria describes when certain pelagic bacteria break down polymers and use them as a primary source of carbon for energy. Polymers such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) are incredibly useful for their durability and relatively low cost of production, however it is their persistence and difficulty to be properly ...
Debris on beach near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Debris collected from beaches on Tern Island in the French Frigate Shoals over one month. Researchers classify debris as either land- or ocean-based; in 1991, the United Nations Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Pollution estimated that up to 80% of the pollution was land-based, [5] with the remaining 20% originating from ...