A study back in 2017 suggested that 95% of the plastic pollution in the oceans came from 10 rivers based in Asia and Africa. No doubt these regions are responsible for the bulk of plastic pollution hitting the oceans and it would have to be all rivers in the region. The Yangtze was estimated to be responsible for depositing 1.5 million metric tons of plastic waste into the East China Sea annually and that is absolutely a disgusting and shocking statistic. There is no accountability.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is so big this can be seen from space and is growing continuously. This garbage patch is 1.6 million km² of plastic waste that is anywhere between 5 and 30 meters deep. The currents have moved the floating plastic waste to this area and is killing all the sea life in the area.
The Pacific Garbage Patch is estimated to be between the size of Texas and the size of Russia depending on the time of year and the current flow. The problem is the Pacific garbage patch is one of 5 such patches known as Gyre's where the rubbish is accumulated due to the various sea currents. One would think this would make it easier to remove the waste that is visible before it breaks down into micro plastics.
Experts believe that by 2060 the weight of the rubbish in the sea will out weight the sea life and you have to imagine what sea life will still be living and in what condition the fish and other creatures will be in. This is a huge worry if the pollution continues at the rate it does.
The problem is this plastic rubbish floating around in the sea breaks down into micro balls and in many cases can be consumed by fish and if enough is consumed can turn the fish toxic. Fish with more than 12.5% of their body weight made up of plastic fibers are not fit for the food chain. Plastics entering the food chain is the big worry as how much is being kept from the public because this is ongoing and has been happening for years.
Neptune balls is a term for a plastic ball made up of thousands of plastic micro balls that have concentrated together being trapped by sea grass. Every year when storms happen these balls are either swept out to sea or end up on the beaches. This is a fairly new phenomenon that has stated to take place and highlights how much rubbish is in the sea if this is what is being churned up from the seabed. How much plastic is lying on the seafloor if this is what is happening now?
A worrying study in 2025 found micro plastics present in 99% fish sampled which included prawns and shrimp. Some fish are more prone to others with some fish containing more than 100 plastic particles. The problem is the cases vary depending on where you live and where the fish was caught with Toronto being one of the worst places for fish with an average of 120 micro plastics per serving. It is true that most of these micro plastics are found in the gut of the fish but it is also common to find plastics forming part of the muscle and flesh of the fish which humans consume.
The long term impact of humans digesting micro plastic particles is still unknown, but common sense tells you this is not going to end well. Surely education or the use of bio degradable plastics is the way forward because the human race generally live like pigs and have no concern about what they are destroying. You would think certain countries should be obligated to resolve the problems they are causing for everyone else as the consequences of doing nothing are catastrophic long term.
