Why do ocean animals eat plastic?
Why would an apex ocean predator eat gloves? Or rope? Or plastic cups? How does a whale end up with more than 200 pounds of waste in its stomach?
Beached sperm whale found with 220 pounds of trash in his stomach
A sperm whale that washed up on a beach was found with 220 pounds of plastic trash in his stomach. The whale beached itself and died on a northern Scottish island.
Bacterial communities ‘hitchhiking’ on marine plastic trash
Using an innovative microscopy method, scientists have revealed the structure of the microbial communities coating microplastic trash collected from a variety of ocean sites.
The sun can help break down ocean plastic, but there’s a catch
A recent study found that when four different types of post-consumer microplastics collected from the waters of the North Pacific Gyre were placed under a solar simulator, they dissolved into organic carbon, then, for the most part, munched up by marine bacteria in the water, which then likely converting it to carbon dioxide.