Since the early 1970s, the amount of plastic in the marine environment has increased dramatically.
Plastic negatively affects wildlife in a number of ways.
Some animals, mistaking plastic for food, eat it. For example, approximately 15 percent of the world's 280 species of sea birds are known to have eaten plastic in the form of pellets, bits of styrofoam, even plastic toy soldiers. In addition, sea turtles, apparently regarding plastic bags as jellyfish upon which they regularly feed, have been found with balls of plastic in their stomachs. Another damaging effect of plastic trash on wildlife is the entanglement of animals in everything from six-pack holders to plastic rings, discarded fishing line, and nets. Bring lists or bags of litter to class.