CHEMICALS INVOLVED:
-Polyethylene (plastic is made of this)

The plastic bottles we throw away, or the “disposable” diapers we toss into the trash can, can end up in the ocean. How? Well, when we throw our garbage into the water, the currents will wash it into the Pacific Ocean. In fact, there’s so much garbage in the ocean, there’s a “soup” of plastic garbage that’s twice on the size of Texas! Some might wonder, why does this concern me? I live on land, not the water. But, when the plastic photodegrades (as in to break down by UV lights/sun) it breaks into smaller pieces of plastic, and then, into nurdles. Small plastic pellets that release harmful chemicals into the ocean. The chemicals are consumed by the small aquatic animals, and as it moves up the food chain, we end up consuming these chemicals, and in magnified doses.