How plastics are entering the food chain

Marine Plastic Pollution and Ocean Life

Marine plastic pollution includes both visible waste and tiny fragments. Beach debris may include pieces of bottle tops and plastic bags, as well as nurdles—small plastic pellets transported through the ocean.

Some products, such as shower gels, contain microbeads designed to exfoliate skin. After being washed down the drain, microbeads can pass through sewage systems and reach the sea.

How Plastics May Enter the Food Chain

Laboratory studies described in the video examined whether ocean life ingests plastic:

• Researchers incubated zooplankton alongside microbeads.
• Using a fluorescence microscope, they observed microbeads in the water and in the zooplankton’s digestive tracts.
• Plastics may give associated chemicals time to transfer into zooplankton tissues.
• Animals that eat zooplankton may then ingest both the plastics and those chemicals, allowing them to enter the food chain.

The video argues that reducing plastic waste at its source could help address the problem. Scientific evidence can also support policymakers seeking to limit ocean pollution.

Researcher Featured

Professor Tamara Galloway — marine pollution researcher, University of Exeter