Plastic pollution at sea: the seventh continent

Abstract

The world's largest waste dumpsites are far from our eyes, thousands of kilometres from French territory. They are called the seventh continent because these polluted areas are as large as a continent. It is estimated that 80 to 120 tonnes of waste ends up at sea every minute; a large part of this waste is plastic. While the densest debris accumulates on the seabed, floating debris is carried by currents, converging and accumulating in sub-tropical gyres, large circular currents. What are the effects of this plastic pollution on the environment and on man?