Giving Compass' Take:

· In a recent examination of 50 marine animals found off the British coastlines, scientists found an average of 5.5 microplastic particles in their guts. Because microplastics are often confused as food for marine animals, Global Citizen calls for a reduction of plastic pollution to help save our ecosystem. 

· What are microplastics? How can these harmful particle be reduced? What can donors do to help?

· Check out this article to see what the World Health Organization is doing about microplastics in bottled water.  

Whether or not they mean to, marine animals are consuming alarming amounts of plastic as they swim through the water.

Scientists recently studied the corpses of 50 marine animals, comprising 10 species, that washed up on British coastlines and found that each animal contained an average of 5.5 microplastic particles in their guts, according to a new report published in the journal Scientific Reports.

However, the actual amount of microplastics the animals consumed over time could be much higher, according to the researchers.

“The low number of microplastics in their gut at any one time doesn’t necessarily correlate to the chemical burden within their body because the exposure is chronic and cumulative,” lead author Sarah Nelms told the Guardian. “It’s also not yet understood how synthetic particles physically interact with the gut wall as they pass through.”

Read the full article about microplastics by Joe McCarthy and Erica Sanchez at Global Citizen.