By now you’ve probably heard of the giant patch of plastics floating in the Pacific Ocean, and things like micro-beads from cosmetics turning up in waterways, and the animals that inhabit them - you may even have seen reports about a plastic bag turning up in the deepest part of the ocean, the Mariana Trench. While its durability is one of things that makes plastic so useful, it’s also what’s turning out to make it so dangerous - it can take centuries for some plastic materials to degrade, and more and more of it is winding up in the environment. We’re localizing the issue with new data collected by the Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program. It’s been using citizen scientists to collect some baseline information on where micro-plastics can be found in waters across southwest Florida. We’re joined by its executive director, Jennifer Hecker.
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