The plastic ‘gyres’ of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans are the
result of the more than 60 billion tons of plastic  produced each
year. The plastic accumulates hydrophobic pollutants including nonylphenols,
DDE and PCB which can be up to one million times more concentrated on
the plastic surface than they are in the ambient seawater.

The plastic ‘gyres’ of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans are the result of the more than 60 billion tons of plastic are produced each year. With less than 5% being recycled, much the plastic waste ends up joining the ocean vortices, either from direct dumping, river transport or via unsecured landfill.

As most plastic does not biodegrade in the environment, the amount of plastic finding its way to the vortices is growing. About 250 billion pounds are produced annually worldwide as the raw material for the plastic industry and are unintentionally released to the environment both during manufacturing and transport.

Japanese research[i] has demonstrated that plastic pellets are widely distributed in all the world’s ocean. The plastic accumulates hydrophobic pollutants including nonylphenols, DDE and PCB. These can be up to one million times more concentrated on the surface of these pellets than they are in the ambient seawater.

This high accumulation potential suggests that plastic resin pellets serve as both a global transport medium and a source of toxic chemicals in the marine environment. These plastic wastes are often ingested by seabirds and other marine organisms. There is a positive correlation between the mass of ingested plastics and PCB concentrations in fat tissue of marine birds The UN estimates that marine plastic kills over a million seabirds and 100,000 mammals and sea turtles each year.
 

[i] Mato, Isobe, Takada, Kahnehiro, Ohtake, and Kaminuma. Plastic Resin Pellets as a Transport Medium for Toxic Chemicals in the Marine Environment Environ. Sci. Technol. 2001, 35, 318-324
 

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