At a glance | Plastic in our seas

• Every year, millions of tonnes of plastic debris such as bags, bottles and food packaging seeps into our oceans
• As plastic degrades slowly, it pollutes the oceans for a long time
• It breaks down into fragments called micro-plastics, which are ingested by sea life
• It can badly affect living organisms as they become entangled in or injest it, and they can become choked or poisoned
• Researchers estimate the amount of plastic in the ocean is set to increase ten-fold by 2020
• And there could be more plastic than life in our seas by 2050