Approximately 14m tonnes of plastic is believed to lie at the bottom of the ocean, according to a new research by Australia’s government science agency, CSIRO.
There are 30 times more of these microplastics, which are less than 5mm wide, on the ocean floor than on the surface.
Their research suggested that while it wasn't possible to know the age of the microplastics and the larger plastic they were a part of but they seemed to be consumer items.
A majority of the plastic also ends up getting trapped at the coastline before entering the sea.