Plastic In The Ocean Facts Bbc

But half of the plastic we produce is designed to be used just once and then thrown away and even plastic that can be reused or recycled gets chucked out too.

Plastic in the ocean facts bbc.

As producer on the original planet earth for bbc and discovery mark oversaw its two underwater episodes shallow seas and freshwater. Over the last ten years we have produced more plastic than during the whole of the last century. It can stay in the ocean for thousands of years if it isn t recycled. Experts think that by 2050 the amount of plastic in the ocean will weigh more than the amount of fish in the ocean.

Plastic rubbish doesn t biodegrade. All animals whether they live on land or in the sea can be hurt by plastic. Scientists are very worried about plastic that ends up in the ocean. Mark series produced ocean giants a three part series on whales and dolphins and produced two intrepid episodes for south wild pacific.

Test your knowledge in the plastics pollution quiz. According to the container recycling institute 100 7 billion plastic beverage bottles were sold in the u s. Every day around 8 million pieces of plastic makes. Bbc earth delivered direct to your inbox.

Plastic is an amazing man made material it s cheap to produce and has many uses. A vast ocean sieving expedition across the atlantic has revealed that there is as much as 21 million tonnes of plastic particles in the ocean much higher than estimated. 100 of baby sea turtles have plastic in their stomachs. Your email country.

And as they take a long time to degrade. Do you know your microplastics from your single use. Shocking ocean plastic statistics. A plastic bag has an average working life of 15 minutes.

Never miss a moment. Plastic rubbish can be incredibly harmful to fish and other sea life. The old fashioned metal boxes that have been dragged around the ocean since 1931 have accidentally created a record of the history of ocean plastic. More than 1 million seabirds and 100 000 marine animals die from plastic pollution every year.

Much of our unwanted plastic ends up in the ocean around 8 million tonnes of it every year in fact. Sign up for hand selected playlists topical articles and the very best from the bbc earth community. The facts about plastic pollution. All the bbc s news on plastic pollution it is estimated debris takes about six years to reach the centre of the north pacific gyre from the coast of the us and about a year from japan.

In 2014 or 315 bottles per person. To enjoy the cbbc newsround website at its.