In a recent study published online in Environmental Science & Technology, a team of scientists from the Sea Education Association (SEA), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) analyzed oceanic micro plastic debris found from sea surface level at different locations in the North Atlantic Ocean. What they found on these ocean plastic samples were 1,000 different types of bacterial cells, ranging from plants, algae, and autotrophs.

The microbes found on these “platispheres” might play a role in naturally degrading the specks of plastic. However, their effects on the ocean ecosystems are yet to be determined, and harmful bacteria families that include cholera-causing pathogens were also found on some pieces of plastic. Furthermore, while being naturally degraded by its microscopic inhabitants, the plastic will still remain in some ways. If anything, the discovery of these platispheres are more of a calling for plastic-managing policies to be put in place.

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