International study says oceans contain more than 170 trillion pieces of plastic National Newspaper

An international study concluded that there is 170 trillion pieces of plastic are currently accumulated in the oceans.

On an island in Australia, biologist Jennifer Lavers has dedicated her life to studying shearwaters: seabirds that are very adept at catching fish.

On the beach, you capture one of the animals to find out why they died. When dissecting the stomach, do not be surprised: it is filled with pieces of plastic that the animal cannot digest.

She explained that, by comparison, it would be the equivalent of a human being eating 12 pizzas, as told in the documentary Ocean Plastic.

In just one clipper, 234 pieces of plastic were found. This is just a small part of what corresponds to each of us.

According to a new study, there are more than 170 trillion pieces of plastic in the oceans. Each inhabitant of the Earth has 21 thousand pieces. The figure stunned Marcus Eriksen, the head of the survey that has been conducted for the past 40 years.

Starting in 2004, he said, the curve began to rise at an extraordinary level. This is mainly because it happened when the world’s plastic production exploded, mainly related to the expansion of the world’s middle class. Only in the past 15 years it was 5 million tons.

The biggest increase has been in disposable plastics: cups, packaging, and bags made for single use only.

This is the daily life of an American: receiving a box filled with bubble wrap in plastic wrap with many chocolates in the mail, each wrapped in a different wrapper. Or order the lunch, which comes in a plastic bag, wrapped in plastic with knives and forks with sauces wrapped in plastic. The United States is the largest consumer of plastics in the world.

With the impact of sun and water, fragments of plastic break down into microplastics: pieces less than 5 millimeters across pollute all species, including us, through the water and the marine animals we eat.

All plastic produced on Earth stays on the planet in some form and only 10% of it is recycled. However, according to the researcher, it is not enough to prevent them from reaching the sea or to increase recycling. There must be a global compact.

There is, at the moment, a resolution under discussion in the United Nations to limit plastic production. The vote is scheduled for May.

There are many other biodegradable materials that can be used. Therefore, the researcher says that it is not too much to dream of cutting out disposables altogether. Humanity is creative and can live without plastic.