These same properties happen
to be the reasons why plastics are a serious hazard to the
environment (Pruter, 1987; Laist, 1987). Since they are
also buoyant, an increasingload of plastic debris is beingdispersed
over longdistances, and when they finally
settle in sediments they may persist for centuries (Hansen,
1990; Ryan, 1987b; Goldberg, 1995, 1997).