Ocean Confetti!
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In many ways, plastic is the perfect material: we can make it strong and rigid enough tobuild spaceships and replace bones, or thin and flexible enough to make shopping bagsthat weigh as much as a nickel but carry up to 17 pounds. And unlike other materials,plastic doesn't rust or rot — it can last for centuries, even when we only need it tolast a few seconds.We make tons of plastic precisely because it's cheap, durable and yet expendable.But the features of plastic that make it so useful to us have also transformed life inthe oceans, where as much as 10% of our discarded plastic -- millions of tons per year -- endsup. Big pieces of plastic are definitely bad news for marine animals like whales, albatross,and sea turtles, which risk getting tang...
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In many ways, plastic is the perfect material: we can make it strong and rigid enough tobuild spaceships and replace bones, or thin and flexible enough to make shopping bagsthat weigh as much as a nickel but carry up to 17 pounds. And unlike other materials,plastic doesn't rust or rot — it can last for centuries, even when we only need it tolast a few seconds.We make tons of plastic precisely because it's cheap, durable and yet expendable.But the features of plastic that make it so useful to us have also transformed life inthe oceans, where as much as 10% of our discarded plastic -- millions of tons per year -- endsup. Big pieces of plastic are definitely bad news for marine animals like whales, albatross,and sea turtles, which risk getting tang...
