Marine environment floating plastic debris

In 1990, about 12 nhllion tons of plastics were produced in Japan, and the production was almost double of the value in 1970. At present, about one himdred million tons of plastics are produced in the world. With increase in production, the amount of plastic wastes has been raised enormously. It is reported that these waste plastics kill many kinds of animals, scar the beautiful scenery, contaminate the coast and disturb the cruise of ships in various environments. In marine environment, especially, one million marine animals are killed every year eilhm by choking on floating plastic items or by becoming entangled in plastic debris. The quantities of the marine debris reaches several hundred thousand tons every year. 

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