A boy views an installation made of plastic bottles during the Marine Debris Festival, held by the local community as a campaign to save the beach from plastics pollution, in Poliwali Mandar district, West Sulawesi, Indonesia, Oct. 3, 2021. (Photo by Yusuf Wahil/Xinhua)
A "concerning degree" of plastic pollution has reached the Arctic region, according to a study published by the German Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), on Tuesday.
A "flood of plastic" transported by rivers, the air and shipping has reached all spheres of the Arctic, the study found. High concentrations of microplastic can be found in the water, on the seafloor, on remote beaches, in rivers and even in ice and snow.
"The Arctic is still assumed to be a largely untouched wilderness," said AWI expert Melanie Bergmann. Their research, conducted with colleagues from Norway, Canada and the Netherlands, shows that "this perception no longer reflects the reality."
Each year, between 19 and 23 million metric tons of plastic litter end up in the world's water systems, according to the study. Once in the oceans, the particles slowly break down into smaller pieces -- from macro to micro and nanoplastics -- and can even enter the human bloodstream.
"The plastic is not only a burden for ecosystems, it could also worsen climate change," the researchers warn, recalling that global plastic production is expected to double by 2045.
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