TOKYO - Plastic waste, blending into the darkness of the deep sea, continues to increase and may soon have a significant impact on our lives.
At a depth of 2,400 meters in Suruga Bay, a white object fluttering in the water is a plastic bag.
Similar sightings have been confirmed worldwide, even at depths exceeding 10,000 meters in the Mariana Trench.
While plastic waste in the ocean is often imagined as being washed up on beaches or floating on the surface, most of it sinks to the deep sea, becoming eternal trash and leading to severe environmental pollution.
The seas around Japan, influenced by ocean currents, have become a gathering place for trash. The amount of microplastics broken down into tiny particles is said to be 27 times the global average.
Research is ongoing, and in January 2024, it was demonstrated that plastics in the deep sea can also be decomposed by microorganisms.
Ryota Nakajima, a senior researcher at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, says, "Japan uses a lot of plastic. Efforts to reduce single-use plastics are definitely necessary. It's an issue that requires everyone in the world to cooperate and establish measures to prevent trash from leaking into the sea."
Source: ANN
