Is Illegal Ocean Waste Disposal by Ships a Significant Source of Ocean Plastic Debris?

The widely held assumption that most plastic debris at sea comes from land-based sources is questioned in a September 30, 2019 article, titled "Rapid increase in Asian bottles in the South Atlantic Ocean indicates major debris inputs from ships" https://www.pnas.org/content/116/42/20892.short?rss=1 - The article is published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, by researchers with the University of Cape Town, South Africa and others - The article notes that "... Many oceanic islands suffer high levels of stranded debris … During the 1980s, most bottles drifted to the island from South America ... Currently, 75% of bottles are from Asia, with most from China. The recent manufacture dates indicate that few bottles could have drifted from Asia, and presumably are dumped from ships, in contravention of International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships regulations …"​ - Summarized by Jack Cooper of the Animal Digestible Food Packaging Initiative http://www.adfpi.org - JLC@adfpi.org - Text to 301 384 8287 #SingleUsePlastics #FoodPackaging #PlasticWaste #PlasticPackaging #MicroPlastic #NanoPlastic​​