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Plastics, due to their moldability, strength, and durability, are useful for a wide variety of uses and have become ubiquitous in modern life. However, these characteristics are also why plastics are pervasively problematic for the environment.
New research indicates that the problem of marine plastic pollution is far greater than previously thought. A prior estimate of five trillion pieces of plastic in the world's oceans is now considered to be grossly underestimated.
Plastics found on beaches worldwide and the five large floating garbage patches (including the well-known Great Pacific Garbage Patch, roughly the size of Texas), show us only what's on the surface, however. It's estimated that by 2050 there will be more plastic per pound than fish in the oceans. Last year, microplastics were found in sediments and the stomachs of deep sea creatures in the bottom of the Mariana Trench, proving that plastic pollution has contaminated...