Seagrass 'balls’ trap millions of plastic

[Still Waters]

Underwater seagrass in coastal areas appear to trap plastic pollution in natural bundles of fibre known as “Neptune balls”, researchers have found.

With no help from humans, the swaying plants – anchored to shallow seabeds – may collect nearly 900m plastic items in the Mediterranean alone every year, a study reported in the journal Scientific Reports said.

“We show that plastic debris in the seafloor can be trapped in seagrass remains, eventually leaving the marine environment through beaching,” lead author Anna Sanchez-Vidal, a marine biologist at the University of Barcelona, told AFP.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/15/seagrass-neptune-balls-sieve-millions-of-plastic-particles-from-water-study-finds

https://www.sciencealert.com/seagrass-neptune-balls-bundle-plastic-waste