http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/02/13/us-science-oceans-idINKBN0LG34V20150213

World’s oceans clogged by millions of tons of plastic trash

BY WILL DUNHAM
WASHINGTON Fri Feb 13, 2015 5:40am IST

(Reuters) – The world’s oceans are clogged with plastic debris, but how
much of it finds its way into the seas annually? Enough to place the
equivalent of five grocery bags full of plastic trash on every foot (30
cm) of every nation’s coastline around the globe.

That’s according to scientists who released research on Thursday
estimating that a staggering 8 million metric tones of plastic pollution
enter the oceans each year from the world’s 192 coastal countries based
on 2010 data.

Based on rising waste levels, they estimated that more than 9 million
tons would end up in the oceans in 2015.

Experts have sounded the alarm in recent years over how plastic
pollution is killing huge numbers of seabirds, marine mammals, sea
turtles and other creatures while sullying ocean ecosystems.