Marine plastic pollution has become a major concern for several agencies. It could rise up to 2.6 fold by the year 2040 if it is left unchecked as the plastic entering world oceans has surged in an alarming situation since 2005.
According to research, published by 5 Gyres Institute, a U.S. organization that campaigns to reduce plastic estimated that 171 trillion plastic particles were afloat in the oceans by 2019.
This study looked at the surface-level plastic pollution data from 11,777 ocean stations in six major marine regions covering the period from 1979 to 2019.
“We have found an alarming trend of exponential growth in microplastics in the global ocean since the millennium,” said Marcus Eriksen, co-founder of the 5 Gyres Group, in a statement.
“We need a strong legally binding U.N. global treaty on plastic pollution that stops the problem at the source,” he added. Experts said the study showed that the level of marine plastic pollution in the oceans has been underestimated.
Microplastics not only contaminate the oceans but they are hazardous as well they internally damage the internal organs of marine life and create a huge impact on marine ecosystems.
“The numbers in this new research are staggeringly phenomenal and almost beyond comprehension,” said Paul Harvey, a scientist and plastics expert with Environmental Science Solutions, an Australian consultancy focused on pollution reduction.
The United Nations kicked off negotiations on an agreement to tackle plastic pollution in Uruguay in November, with the aim of drawing up a legally binding treaty by the end of next year.
Environmental group Greenpeace stated that without a strong global treaty, plastic production could double within the next 10 to 15 years, and triple by 2050.
A separate international treaty was agreed upon on Sunday to help protect biodiversity on the world’s high seas.
This has further become a significant issue if strict action is not taken or policies are not implemented properly it can cause huge repercussions for the coming future generations.
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