![]() Microplastics have been found in more than 100 aquatic species, including fish, shrimp, and mussels destined for our dinner plates. Seals, whales, turtles, and other animals are strangled by abandoned fishing gear or discarded six-pack rings. Most of the deaths to animals are caused by entanglement or starvation. Nearly every species of seabird eats plastics. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, are known to have been affected by plastics. Millions of animals are killed by plastics every year, from birds to fish to other marine organisms. Plastic microfibers, meanwhile, have been found in municipal drinking water systems and drifting through the air. ![]() Microplastics are breaking down further into smaller and smaller pieces. These so-called microplastics are spread throughout the water column and have been found in every corner of the globe, from Mount Everest, the highest peak, to the Mariana Trench, the deepest trough. Once at sea, sunlight, wind, and wave action break down plastic waste into small particles, often less than one-fifth of an inch across. They were carried to the South Pacific by the South Pacific gyre, a circular ocean current. On Henderson Island, an uninhabited atoll in the Pitcairn Group isolated halfway between Chile and New Zealand, scientists found plastic items from Russia, the United States, Europe, South America, Japan, and China. But once caught up in ocean currents, it can be transported around the world. Once at sea, much of the plastic trash remains in coastal waters. ![]() Trash is also carried to sea by major rivers, which act as conveyor belts, picking up more and more trash as they move downstream. Most of the plastic trash in the oceans, Earth’s last sink, flows from land. But many of these additives can extend the life of products if they become litter, with some estimates ranging to at least 400 years to break down.
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