The durability and variety of plastics mean that they can take an age to break down (or biodegrade) in the environment. Plastic carrier bags will be around for 50 to 100 years, plastic bottles for 600 years, and Styrofoam/polystyrene containers for a whopping 5000 years. As more of these plastic items are added to the ocean, they just build up and up. Waves and sunlight break large pieces down into smaller and smaller fragments, which enter the food chain and then concentrate in living organisms in a process called bioaccumulation. In this article, the author discusses the environmental and health issues around ocean plastics and what can be done about it.