New study reveals plastic pollution in the Antarctic is 5x worse than expected

Microplastic levels in the Antarctic are five times greater than anticipated, according to the international team. 

Plastic in the Antarctic is five
times worse than anticipated.

Microplastics are those tiny particles less than five millimeters in diameter found in personal care items like toothpaste and shampoo, but they can also come from clothing fibers or be created as larger pieces of plastic in the ocean break down.

The researchers found the plastic around the Antarctic continent and in the Southern Ocean, which is around 8.5 million square miles large. They think plastic originating outside the area may be coming in over the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which scientists in the past considered nearly impassible.

Read the Inhabitat story by Lucy Cooke - “New study reveals plastic pollution in the Antarctic is 5x worse than expected.”