New study says 270,000 tons of plastic in world’s oceans

A recent study has revealed that approximately 270,000 tons of plastic are floating in the oceans worldwide.

plastic in world’s oceans

The amount is enormous, and the study says that 38,500 garbage trucks can be filled with plastic trash.

The study was published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE on December 10, 2014, and says that the plastic is broken into 5 trillion pieces.

The new study comes as good support to scientists who are trying to understand and evaluate the effects of synthetic material on the marine ecosystem and how much plastic is entering the world’s ocean.

Markus Eriksen is the lead author of the study and is from 5 Gyres Institute- An association of like-minded people looking to reduce plastic in oceans.

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Researchers have dragged a “fine mesh net’ on the surface of the sea to gather pieces and further used computer models for other ocean tracts that were not surveyed to find an estimate, said a report on Nola.com.

The study only tells of the plastic that’s on the surface of oceans but not the plastic on the floor of the large oceans.

Many now believe that the research and study are on the right line because a similar study by some other researchers in Spain also suggested that plastic amounting to 7,000 to 35,000 was in the oceans.

Given that two different studies yielded the same results, the studies are valuable and will help scientists understand how synthetic material will affect the environment.

ranjita shalgar
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