and other products are often designed to be used for a very short time. Yet once they enter the environment, they can remain there for many years while breaking apart into progressively smaller pieces.
The source cites research indicating that 89% of identified plastic in the Mariana Trench was single-use plastic.
That statistic illustrates an uncomfortable contradiction: an object that may be useful for only a few minutes can become an environmental problem that lasts far longer.
The Problem Gets Smaller—and Potentially Harder to See
Large pieces of plastic are
