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A plastic wrapper found at the bottom of the ocean. (Teso et al., 2026, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 via SWNS)

By Stephen Beech

The very deepest depths of the ocean have become a dumping ground for human litter, reveals new research.

Very deepest depths of the ocean have become dumping ground for human litter

Examples of deep-sea litter found in the Mar del Plata Submarine Canyon. (A) Medium-sized plastic wrapper, 2,109 m. (B) Rubber boot, 2,598 m. (C) Food wrapper, 1,920 m. (D) Snack wrapper, 3,231 m. (E) Tissue paper wrapper, 3,814 m. (F) Sediment-filled plastic bag, 3,739 m. (G) Highly degraded plastic fragment, 3,709 m. (H) Nylon cord with a hook, 1,949 m. (I) White plastic cup and bag (arrows), 3,243 m. Scale bars: 10 cm. All images courtesy of Schmidt Ocean Institute/ ROV SuBastian (CC BY 4.0), expedition FKt250712. (Teso et al., 2026, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 via SWNS)
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A rubber boot found on the bottom of the ocean. (Teso et al., 2026, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 via SWNS)
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Fried noodles wrapper littering the ocean. (Teso et al., 2026, PLOS One, CC-BY 4.0 via SWNS)

Originally published on talker.news, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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