Bhubaneswar: A study by researchers from CSIRO in Australia and the University of Toronto in Canada revealed that very minute, an amount of plastic equivalent to a garbage truck's load is dumped into oceans. A staggering 11 million tonnes of plastic waste currently litter the ocean floor.

Dr. Denise Hardesty, a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO, emphasized the importance of these findings, saying, "This is the first estimate of how much plastic waste ends up on the ocean floor, where it accumulates before breaking down into smaller pieces and mixing into ocean sediment."

The research not only reveals the scale of plastic reaching ocean depths but also challenges previous assumptions by showing that larger items like nets, cups, and plastic bags make up a significant part of the debris.

Alice Zhu, a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto leading the study, highlighted that the amount of plastic on the ocean floor could be up to 100 times greater than what's seen floating on the surface. This means the ocean floor has become a permanent storage for marine plastic pollution, unlike the temporary build-up seen on the surface.

Using scientific data and predictive models based on remote-operated vehicles (ROVs) and bottom trawls, the research estimated the distribution and quantity of plastic on the ocean floor. It found that plastic tends to cluster around continents, with about half of the predicted plastic mass sitting above 200 meters depth, while the rest is deeper in the ocean.

Zhu added, "These findings fill a long-standing gap in our understanding of plastic behavior in the marine environment." By grasping how plastic moves and accumulates in deep waters, efforts can be focused on reducing sources and cleaning up the environment, ultimately lessening the threat posed by plastic pollution to marine life.