"Industrialised human society generates vast quantities of materials, many of which, lacking recovery infrastructure, end up as waste.The nature of this waste has changed dramatically over the last 30 to 40 years due to the introduction of synthetic materials such as plastics (Sheavly 2005). Human garbage, including synthetics and plastics, have inevitably found their way into the world’s oceans.This rubbish, which is present in the oceans and on beaches, is called marine debris. Astoundingly, it is now evident that marine debris is one of the world’s most pervasive pollution problems affecting the oceans(Sheavly 2005). Synthetics like plastics are the most problematic debris because they resist natural degradation processes and are a danger to wildlife.

In 1997, it was estimated that a staggering 6.4 million tons of garbage reach the marine environment every year. Estimates suggesting that there are currently over 13,000 pieces of plastic litter floating on every square kilometre of ocean have been reported by UNEP(United Nations Environment Program) (UNEP 2005).Whilst another UNEP study reporting estimates of 46,000 pieces per square mile (18,000 per square kilometre) has also been produced (UNEP 2006)...

Countless marine animals have been killed or harmed by marine debris primarily because they either become entangled in it, or, they mistake plastic debris for food and ingest it. A review of entanglement and ingestion of marine debris by marine organisms conducted in 1996, showed that these phenomena had been known to affect individuals of at least 267 species worldwide.This included 86% of all sea turtles, 44% of all seabird species, 43% of all marine mammal species and numerous fish and crustacean species. For most of the species concerned, significant numbers of individuals were affected (Laist 1997)."

- Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans