Plastic pollution: more than 171 trillion particles present in the oceans, is alarming

Following the observation of about 40 years of data, scientists identified an omen of "plastic smog" that lives in the oceans of our Planet and that includes more than 171 trillion plastic particles, equal to about 2.3 million tons. That is what announces the publication of a new study in the magazine PLOS ONE.

This is a rather alarming situation, given that it is a rapid and unprecedented increase, which unfortunately will also tend to worsen in the coming decades. As Lisa Erdle, director of science and innovation at the environmental non-profit organization 5 Gyres and co-author of the study, explained to CNN: "It is much higher than previous estimates". The data of these estimates, are based on surface water between 1979 and 2019 collected by about 12,000 stations worldwide.

More than plastic waste generally, the researchers concentrated on microplastics. These thin particles are very dangerous to the life of the oceans because they can be easily ingested and are almost inevitable in the ocean water, just like salt. Although microplastics do not necessarily need to be ingested to cause harm, they can also easily introduce toxic chemicals into the surrounding water.

While researchers believe that the most appropriate solution is to "create binding and enforceable international agreements to prevent plastic pollution emissions".

Finally,  Cleaning is pointless if we continue to produce plastic at the current rate, and have heard about recycling for too long while the plastics industry simultaneously refuses any commitment to buy recycled material or design for recyclability.