Oceanplastickillsmillionsofmarineanimalseachyear.Nearly700specieshavebeenaffectedbyit.Thisincludesendangered species.

Somearestrangledbyabandonedfishingnetsordiscardedsix‑packrings.Seaturtlesandtoothedwhalesgulpdownplasticbags.Theythinktheplasticisajellyfish.Birdslikealbatrosshavebeenfounddeadwithstomachsfullofplastic garbage.

Microplastics areadanger,too.Theyaresmallplasticpieceslessthanfivemillimeters(one‑fifthofaninch)long.Animalseatthemwithoutknowing it.

Seabirdsscoopupfloatingplasticpellets.Thesecanresemblefisheggs.Parentbirdsthenspituptheplastictofeedtheiryoung.Butplasticdoesn’tprovidenutrients.Itkillsthe animals.

Incrabs,microplasticsremaininthegutsixtimeslongerthanfooddoes.Whenapredatorlikeabirdeatsamarineworm,thebirdgetsalessnutritiousmeal.Italsogetstheplasticthatwormhaseaten.That’showplasticpassesupthefood chain.

Tokeepplasticoutofouroceans,weneedtoknowhowit’sgettingthere.Today,weproducemoreplasticthanwecandisposeof.“Thisisn’taproblemwherewedon’tknowwhatthesolutionis”, saysTedSiegler,aresourceeconomist.Heshouldknow.He’sspentthelast25yearsstudying garbage.

“Therealityis,wejustneedtocollectthetrash.MostcountriesthatIworkin,youcan’tevengetitoffthestreet.”Moregarbagetrucksandabettersystemwould help.

Sieglersuggeststwootherwaystotackletheproblem.First,designnewplasticsandnewplasticproducts.They mustbebiodegradableormorerecyclable, however.

Second,helpcountriesthatneedbetter wasteremovalsystems.Sieglersuggestsatax.Companieswouldpayapennyoneverypoundofplastictheymanufactured.Thetaxwouldraiseroughlysixbilliondollarsayear.Thatmoneycouldbeusedtomanagegarbagecollectionindeveloping nations.