Marine plastic pollution has soared to an unprecedented level.

　　Science and Technology Daily, Beijing, March 16 (Reporter Liu Xia) New Zealand scientists published a paper in the latest issue of PLoS One, saying that a new study they conducted found that since 2005, plastic pollution in the global ocean has reached an "unprecedented level". At present, about 170 trillion pieces of plastic are floating in the ocean, with an estimated total weight of 2.3 million tons. If it is not controlled, the speed of plastics entering the ocean may be several times faster in the next few decades.

　　Researchers collected plastic samples from more than 11,000 sites around the world, focusing on the situation during the 40 years from 1979 to 2019. The results show that the trend of plastics entering the ocean before 1990 was not obvious, and it fluctuated between 1990 and 2005, and then it increased sharply.

　　Lisa Edeler of the University of Auckland, who is in charge of the latest research, pointed out that there are many sources of plastic pollution in the ocean: fishing nets, buoys, discarded clothes, car tires and disposable plastics, which will eventually decompose into microplastics. In addition, at present, only a small part of plastic is properly recycled, and many plastics will eventually be landfilled. If the landfill is not properly managed, plastic waste will enter the environment and eventually flow to the ocean.

　　Edeler explained that from 1990 to 2005, the amount of plastic waste in the ocean declined in some cases, partly because there were some effective policies to control pollution, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, which came into effect in 1988, which was a legally binding agreement among 154 countries, aiming at stopping the discharge of plastic by the navy, fishing and shipping fleets.

　　She appealed that with the increasing production of plastics, countries need to formulate a new treaty, not only to reduce the production and use of plastics, but also to better manage how to dispose of plastics.