A joint study by the CSIRO and Imperial College London has assessed the impact of plastic use on the world's seabirds. The birds looked at included albatrosses, shearwaters and penguins.
The study, led by Dr Chris Wilcox with co-authors Dr Denise Hardesty and Dr Erik van Sebille revealed that nearly 60 per cent of all seabirds have plastic in their stomach. This number contrasts with a study done in 1960, which suggested less than five per cent of individual seabirds were carrying plastic in their gut.
"For the first time, we have a global prediction of how wide-reaching plastic impacts may be on marine species – and the results are striking," said senior research scientist at CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Dr Wilcox.
It is thought that the birds mistake plastic for food or swallow it by accident leading to an impact on their gut and weight loss. Occasionally it can also lead to death.
Using previous data, Dr Wilcox has estimates that, "90 per cent of individual seabirds have eaten plastic. This is a huge amount and really points to the ubiquity of plastic pollution." The waste includes plastic bags, clothes fibres and bottle caps, which can be washed into the ocean.
Dr Denise Hardesty from CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere said that reduction of use is a way to improve the impact on the ecosystem in a short amount of time. "Efforts to reduce plastics losses into the environment in Europe resulted in measureable changes in plastic in seabird stomachs with less than a decade," she said.