Plastics in the World’s Oceans and Food:  No Longer an Invisible Killer

Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen

In recent years, heart-rending images of dead or dying sea mammals and fish, their stomachs stuffed with plastic, have shocked citizens around the globe. Reports indicate that the amount of plastic dumped into the world’s oceans has tripled over the past decade alone. And unlike oil spills, which can be remedied with extensive and costly clean-up efforts, there is no obvious solution to plastic “spills.”

Typically, the plastic is discarded on shore and...