The true facts about plastics in oceans are staggering and some of those that I was most shocked by are listed below.
And plenty more can be found here....
Above all - one clear truth - by 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish (by weight).
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And there are now 500x more microplastic particles in the oceans than there are stars in the galaxy.
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For the message to be sustained however, the support of scientific research is now being sought. Awareness is increasing however it is only through scientific data and experimentation that the message can go further.
SCIENCE
ON BOARD
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A fundamental aim of eXXpedition is to collect ​scientific samples ​to feed into large-scale studies.
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Throughout the Round the World voyages, eXXpedition work in partnership with internationally-recognised ocean plastic experts to carry out plastics-related citizen science, both at sea and on shore. More on this here.
TOXIC
PLASTICS
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Thousands of toxic chemicals, many of which pollute ocean ecosystems and contaminate marine products, potentially cause human diseases.
The chemicals used to make 50% of plastics are hazardous. With 1 in 3 fish caught for human consumption now containing plastic, the risk of endocrine disruption in the human body, leading to developmental effects or diseases in later life, is growing.
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Microplastics are also found in rainwater.
33% of plastic is thrown away after only 1 use (that's 100 million tonnes per year)
less than10% of globally collected plastic is recycled
plastic bottles can take up to 450 years to decompose
80% of plastics ends up in oceans through rivers (the rest goes in directly)
8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year (total 150 million so far)
there are 5 trillion microscopic pieces of plastic in the oceans (equivalent to 1,345 blue whales)
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Photo eXXpedition
40% of all plastic made is packaging, therefore used once then discarded
plastics make between 60 and 90% of debris found in the oceans and beaches
plastic bags fragment in up to 300 years and remain at large indefinitely
100% of marine turtles are believed to have traces of plastics pollution. Also 47% of whales, 36% of seals and 40% of seabird species.
100,000 marine animals and turtles are killed by marine plastic pollution per year, And 1 million sea birds.