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.

Plastic waste washed up on the beach
Lots of plastic waste is found washed up on beaches all over the world


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.

Bird caught in a plastic net
Many sea birds get caught up in the ocean’s plastic waste

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.

Sea turtle and fish in the ocean
Sea turtles gobble up plastic bags, mistaking them for jellyfish


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

Likes

LEAVE A COMMENT

THANK YOU

Your comment will be checked and approved shortly.

WELL DONE,
YOUR COMMENT
HAS BEEN ADDED!

COMMENTS

  • Let’s take some action

  • taylor

    i try to use cloth bag instead of plastic bag.

  • Aku

    I think this is a very nice website

  • Bobby

    Oh no!

  • da baby

    lets gooooo

  • lily

    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

  • Evie

    Hi

  • noah

    cool

  • Munchies

    That is cruel

  • evie

    STOP THROWING RUBBISH IN THE OCEAN!!!!!!!!

  • Ishaan

    We have to stop throwing rubbish in our ocean

  • Amy

    thanks

  • take action

  • Let's take action!

  • Let's take action!

  • candice

    wowwww

  • candice

  • this is so cool

  • o-man

    nice

  • ollie

    love it

  • Cool Nice Amazing Wow Lol

  • emma

    I love this app

  • olivia

    must save the sea animals

  • Brøøkë

    Wow so many facts, i'm impressed!

  • nrepet6112

    HELP SAVE THE ANIMALS THIS IS NOT A LAUGHING MATTER EVERYTHING WILL BE GONE IF WE DON'T HELP.

  • Kreecpop

  • Moht

  • Kreecpop

  • Wow

  • hi

  • Lydia griffen

    We can do this and we will do this

  • ryan

    cool

  • madison

    this article was really helpful for my book report.

  • Carter

    it is very inportent that we keep the ocen clean!

  • Soooooo sad

  • Let's do this!

  • Meg

    we should really do something

  • Ava

    wow thats sad

  • Miah

    this helped me alot

  • carnell

    i hate that it just get put in the water

More Like General Kids Club

General Kids Club

How to make a plastic-free cutlery holder

Discover how to make a groovy cutlery holder for your reusable utensils…
General Kids Club
SPONSORED

SUPER-SIZED SCIENCE KITS

Experience epic hands-on learning with these exciting extra-large STEM kits from National Geographic!
General Kids Club

How to make planet-friendly ice lollies

Cool off with this icy, tasty treat…
General Kids Club

NG KiDS’ Junior Adventures Blog

Pepeijn and Romeq are living life on the road, exploring the world one country at a time!