Our Oceans Are Full Of Plastic [Infographic]

On the back of the news that Victoria will be banning plastic shopping bags, I wondered how much plastic is actually in the ocean. I always hear big, crazy numbers and I’ve certainly seen the pictures but what is the reality? The science? How does it affect ocean life?

This infographic explains.

This elegantly designed infographic, from Futurism.com, details the impact of nanoplastic on our ocean. You see, plastic that accumulates in the ocean begins to break down over time, so one of the bigger problems to ocean life is these smaller plastic particles.

Because these plastics are so small – the size of viruses and antibodies – they are very hard to detect, so it is difficult to understand their impact on marine life. However, data on microplastics shows that our oceans are full of the stuff.

What is staggering though, is that we don’t know where 99 per cent of the plastic that ended up in the ocean actually is. It’s a frightening statistic.

Probably time to ban the bags, NSW.

[Futurism]