Plastic waste in the Atlantic ‘10 times worse than feared’

THE ATLANTIC Ocean is filled with ten times more plastic than was previously thought, scientists have discovered.

The mass of ‘invisible’ microplastics found floating in the upper waters could be as much as 21 million tonnes.

This only accounts for the top 200 metres of the sea and applies to three of the most common types of plastic litter.

If this is representative of the rest of the ocean depth – an average of around 3,000 metres (nearly two miles) – it could mean there is at least a staggering 200 million tonnes of plastic litter in the Atlantic.

Previous estimates suggested the amount of plastic waste in the Atlantic Ocean was 17 million tonnes – but this new figure proves previous guesses are ‘substantially’ lower than what is actually there.

Authors of the paper said they had cast doubt on the 17 million tonnes figure.

They said this was because they ‘couldn’t balance’ the mass of floating plastic they had actually observed with the mass they thought had entered the ocean since 1950. This is because earlier studies hadn’t taken into account the concentrations of ‘invisible’ microplastic particles beneath the ocean surface.

This study, published in the journal Nature Communications, was the first to do so across the entire Atlantic, from the UK to the Falklands. Co-author Professor Richard Lampitt, from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, said: ‘In order to determine the dangers of plastic contamination to the environment and to humans we need good estimates of the amount and characteristics of this material, how it enters the ocean, how it degrades and then how toxic it is. This paper demonstrates that scientists have had a totally inadequate understanding of even the simplest of these factors – how much is there – and it would seem our estimates of how much is dumped into the ocean has been massively underestimated.’

To carry out the study, the team collected seawater samples during an Atlantic expedition between September and November 2016.

They filtered large volumes of seawater in the top 200 metres and used imaging techniques to identify tiny plastic particles.

The group of scientists focused on three different types – polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene – which are mostly used commercially and are the most littered plastic types.

Given the amount of microplastics that were found, the authors said the need to understand how much of it is getting into the ocean, and through what means, is a ‘matter of considerable urgency’.

The findings come as other research, released today (Weds), found that plastic released harmful chemicals into the stomach of seabirds who accidentally eat it.

Many birds confuse plastic with food and it can pose risks such as blockages in the intestine.

But a study on northern fulmars – birds found in the North Sea – has found the waste can also release toxins into their stomach.

Scientists from Wageningen Marine Research in the Netherlands found the plastic releases a variety of chemicals into the bird’s stomach oil over time, including flame retardants and plasticizers.

Previous studies have suggested some of these chemicals can disrupt hormone release and reproduction in the birds, and may even have a genetic effect.