Plastic floats. The World's biggest plastic dumps are at sea. Millions of tons enter the ocean every year, pouring out from rivers and shores, ships and platforms. The world's scientists have studied the phenomenon with alarming results. Plastic contains synthetic hormones that are released when it breaks down into tiny particles through wind, waves and exposure to sun. Once in sea, plastic absorbs toxic substances known as POP's (persistent organic pollutants). This process allows these toxins to accumulate in a million times higher than normal. What happens when fish and seabirds mistake the plastic for food? Scientists have found evidence that these toxins are entering the food chain, ultimately winding up in our bodies. Even worse, plastic does not biodegrade. It becomes trapped in massive maelstroms of garbage. Scientists have identified five of these so-called gyres. A few of them are larger than Spain and Portugal combined.
Many questions remain. Scientists have noticed that the amount of plastic in the gyres has remained constant for the past twenty years, leaving millions of tons unaccounted for. Where has the plastic gone? The world's scientists are on the verge of solving a mystery that might uncover one of the biggest ecological disasters of our time.
