Each year, around
8 million tons
of Plastic waste enter the world’s oceans. This uniquely damaging form of pollution
harms and kills many kinds of wildlife
, both in and out of the water, from whales and dolphins to seabirds. But it is not just plastic bottles and packaging that cause harm—when plastics break down into microscopic pieces, they attract other chemical pollutants from industry and agriculture. These toxic microplastics then
enter the food chain
via plankton and small fish, eventually working their way up to humans. Consumption of fish contaminated by these microplastics has been linked to a variety of serious health problems, including cancer, auto-immune disease, cognitive problems, infertility, and endocrine disruption.
