History

The problem started in 1997 when Captain Charles Moore discovered large pieces of plastic floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. He called it the ‘plastic soup’ and returned to do research. It is proven that 80% of the plastic rubbish in the oceans are dumped by industry and by people who throw away plastic on land which ends up, because of rivers, canals, harbors and the wind, in the sea or ocean. Also shipping, fish nets that are discarded, washing synthetic clothing and brushing our teeth are one of the main problems for plastic soups to occur in the oceans. Because of the high waves, sunlight and rocks, the plastic gets smaller and becomes pollution.

 

 

 

Health damage

The plastic breaks down so small to pollution, that it looks like food for sea animals so they eat it. Lots of animals die because of this problem. If we catch the fish and eat it, and all the microplastics that the fish ate, will end up in our bodies. The poisonous substances enter our food chain. On top of that, the plastic fragments in the sea absorb all kinds of poisonous substances from the sewers and polluted areas that they pass through. The poisonous substances which flow through the sea and the substances will be eaten by the sea animals. The substances will finally, after eating the fish, end up in our body. This causes serious health damage. The plastic we throw away, we always end up in our own bodies, but on the way to there, lots of fish will die. 

How many plastic waste do you think is dumped each year?