A staggering 8m tonnes of plastic waste are entering the world’s oceans every year, or the equivalent to five grocery bags filled with plastic for every foot of coastline in the world, according to the first scientific assessment¹ of the problem.

根据对海上塑料垃圾问题的首次科学评估，全球每年流入海洋的塑料垃圾达到令人震惊的800万吨，相当于全球每英尺海岸线都流入5只塞满塑料的食品袋。

The joint² US-Australian study, released at the American Association for the Advancement³ of Science annual meeting in San Jose, analysed waste production data from 192 countries to conclude that between 4.8m and 12.7m tonnes of “mismanaged plastic” entered the oceans in 2010; 8m tonnes is the central estimate.

这一由美国和澳大利亚联合开展的研究，是在美国科学促进会(American Association for the Advancement of Science)圣何塞年度会议上公布的。该报告根据来自192个国家的垃圾产出数据，经分析得出，2010年流入海洋的“不受管理的塑料垃圾”在480万吨到1270万吨之间，800万吨的数据是上述区间取中位数得出的估计结果。

Plastic in the oceans is becoming a serious ecological⁴ problem for marine⁵ life, as well as an ugly pollutant⁶ washed up on beaches and floating on the open seas.

塑料垃圾不但是海岸上及海面上影响观感的废弃污染物，对于海洋生物来说，它们正成为严重的生态问题。

Large pieces such as intact plastic bags are a hazard for animals from turtles to dolphins, which can become entangled⁷ or swallow them with fatal results. More insidious⁸ is the weathering of plastic debris⁹ into tiny particles that can be ingested even by microscopic¹⁰ invertebrates¹¹.

对于从海龟到海豚在内的海洋生物，完整的塑料袋等大块塑料垃圾是一大威胁。它们可能会被这些塑料袋缠住或将其吞噬，从而导致致命后果。此外，更不易被人察觉的是，这些塑料废品被分解成微小颗粒后，甚至会被微观层面的无脊椎生物吞噬。

The study, which also appears in the journal Science, lists the world’s 20 biggest national sources of mismanaged plastic waste. The top 19 are all middle and low income countries, with the US in 20th position.

这份研究报告也发表在学术杂志《科学》(Science)上，该报告列举了全球20个最大的塑料垃圾来源国。其中，前19位都是中低收入国家，第20位则是美国。

The worst offenders¹² are in Asia, with China responsible for 28 per cent of all mismanaged waste, followed by Indonesia with 10 per cent.

问题最严重的是亚洲国家。其中，来自中国的废品占了所有废品的28%，印尼以10%的比例落于其后。

The amount of plastic going into the oceans is increasing fast, keeping pace with global plastic production, said the study leader Jenna Jambeck of the University of Georgia.

这项研究的带头人、美国佐治亚大学(University of Georgia)的詹娜•简贝克表示，流入海洋的塑料垃圾总量正在迅速增长，速度正在赶上全球的塑料生产量。

“In 2025 the annual input¹³ would be about twice the 2010 input or 10 bags full per foot of coastline,” she said. “The cumulative¹⁴ input in 2025 would be nearly 20 times our 2010 estimate: 100 bags of plastic per foot of coastline in the world.”

她说：“2025年，每年流入海洋的塑料垃圾将是2010年的两倍，差不多相当于每英尺海岸线上流入10袋塑料垃圾。到2025年，累计塑料垃圾流入量将是我们2010年估值的20倍，相当于全球每英尺海岸线上放100袋塑料垃圾。”

Developed nations have the infrastructure¹⁵ to dispose properly of the vast majority of their plastic or recycle it. Poorer countries do not. Altogether about 3 per cent of the world’s total plastic waste ends up in the oceans through littering or dumping.

发达国家拥有相关的基础设施，能够处理绝大部分塑料垃圾，或将其回收利用。相比之下，较贫穷的国家则没有这种条件。总的说来，全球全部塑料垃圾中，约有3%会由于乱扔乱倒，最终流入海洋。

A huge investment will be needed to save the oceans and their inhabitants from choking on human plastic debris.

要想拯救海洋，防止海洋生物不会因人造塑料废品而导致窒息，必须投入巨额资金。

“Solutions will require a combination of local and global efforts,” said Prof Jambeck. “A shift in how we manage waste could provide jobs and opportunities for economic innovation — and it could improve the living conditions and health of millions of people.”

简贝克教授表示：“解决这个问题，需要全球和各地共同努力。改变废品管理方式可能会创造就业，还可能为经济创新创造机遇。这么做还有助于改善数百万人的生存条件和健康水平。”