New scientific estimates put the amount of plastic floating around the planet’s oceans at nearly 270 thousand tons.

New scientific estimates put the amount of plastic floating around the planet’s oceans at nearly 270 thousand tons.

That weight represents the collective heft of over 5 trillion individual pieces.

The figure is the highest to date and was calculated through the analysis of a number of sources and trash distribution patterns.

Large chunks of detritus were assessed visually, and water samples were taken and examined to gather information about the smaller bits.

The calculation process took into account the oceans’ currents and natural patterns of spreading such matter.

That activity was confirmed by actual trips to gyres.

What the team found is that when the plastic debris hits a locus of transport activity, the gyre acts as a blender of sorts, shredding larger pieces into smaller ones that then spread far and wide into aquatic ecosystems.

Among the greatest concerns is that the tiny bits can pick up a number of toxins as they travel, and eventually end up being eaten by fish and other sea animals.

Said the study’s lead author, “The endgame for micro-plastic is interactions with entire ocean ecosystems.”