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?

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.

Newly identified fish nurseries are choked with plastic

A new study reveals that it’s not just adult sea animals that are getting a gullet full of plastic. Larval fish are inundated with plastic fragments in their nursery habitats and they’re eating those pieces along with their natural food sources