WHAT DOES PLASTIC DO?

Plastic enters the ocean, but what does it do there? How does it affect us? What does it do to fish?

Plastic enters the ocean in a number of ways. When it is there, through exposure to the sun, wind and waves, it breaks down into smaller particles, called microplastic, which fish eat. The fish either get caught and eaten by the public, or get eaten by bigger fish, giving a knock on effect. Or, it remains on the surface and fish get trapped.

Alternately, it sinks to the bottom of the ocean and poisons life down there. It is estimated that there are 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic, with 12 million tonnes of it entering the ocean each year. There is more microplastic in the ocean than stars in the Milky Way- and 20,000 plastic bottles are bought per second!

In 2015, 900 times the weight of the Empire State building was produced, so the amount of plastic on earth could triple in the next decade. Because 60-90% of marine litter is plastic based, 50% of turtles are affected by it, and 90%of all seabirds.

Some is in the food we eat (fish we eat have digested it) and air we breathe, in the form of toxins. Plastic remains for millions of years, so virtually all plastic ever made still exists.By 2050, plastic in the oceans will outweigh fish, whales and other like marine animals!