Plastic in the ocean
Discover the facts and figures on how plastic pollution is harming our magnificent marline life…
Plastic is an amazing man-made material – it’s cheap to produce and has many uses! But half of the plastic we produce is designed to be used just once and then thrown away – and even plastic that can be reused or recycled gets chucked out, too!
Much of our unwanted plastic ends up in the ocean – around 8 million tonnes of it every year, in fact! And because plastic takes 400 years to break down, it stays there for a long, long time, putting our friends beneath the waves in serious danger. Let’s dive in and take a closer look…
Plastic in the Ocean – the facts and figures…
700…
different species of animals are believed to be severely threatened because of plastic pollution in the ocean.
22 million…
tonnes of a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by the ocean each day because of rubbish. The ocean has always sucked up CO2 from the air as part of nature – but our waste means more is being absorbed than before. As a result, the water is becoming more acidic, which could make it harder for fish to breath and for creatures like crabs, lobsters and coral to grow their shells.
10%…
of all dead animals found in beach cleanups worldwide have been entangled in plastic bags.
443…
animals and birds were found trapped by marine debris (such as old ropes, nets, mesh and wires) during a recent international coastal cleanup.
5 trillion…
pieces of plastic (not including microbeads – minuscule plastic balls found in toiletries like face washes and toothpaste) are estimated to be floating in the world’s seas.
90%…
of seabirds eat plastic rubbish, mistaking it for food.
20%…
of fish found during a recent expedition had plastic in their stomachs.
52%…
of sea turtles worldwide have accidentally eaten plastic rubbish in the ocean.
The facts and figures are pretty shocking, right? The good news is that people around the world are working to together to reduce plastic waste. Join the mission and check out our 10 tips to reduce plastic pollution!
What did you think of our Plastic in the Ocean feature? Will you be helping to solve the plastic problem? Leave a comment below and let us know!
Photo credits: Pixabay
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COMMENTS
Let’s take some action
i try to use cloth bag instead of plastic bag.
I think this is a very nice website
Oh no!
lets gooooo
pls pls people stop throwing your rubbish in the ocean! their is only one place were rubbish should be thrown and that is the bin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! throwing rubbish in the sea is basicly animal cruelty! and i hate animal cruelty! :[ from lily age 10 just trying to make differents
Hi
cool
That is cruel
STOP THROWING RUBBISH IN THE OCEAN!!!!!!!!
We have to stop throwing rubbish in our ocean
thanks
take action
Let's take action!
Let's take action!
wowwww
this is so cool
nice
love it
Cool Nice Amazing Wow Lol
I love this app
must save the sea animals
Wow so many facts, i'm impressed!
HELP SAVE THE ANIMALS THIS IS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER EVERYTHING WILL BE GONE IF WE DON'T HELP.
Wow
hi
We can do this and we will do this
cool
this article was really helpful for my book report.
it is very inportent that we keep the ocen clean!
Soooooo sad
Let's do this!
we should really do something
wow thats sad
this helped me alot
i hate that it just get put in the water
CUSTOMIZE YOUR AVATAR