海洋裏的塑料垃圾正在失蹤，但這並不是好事
You've probably heard that our oceans have become a plastic soup. But in fact, of all the plastic that enters Earth's oceans each year, just 1 percent has been observed floating on the surface. So where is the rest of it?
你可能已經聽說了，我們的海洋裏遍佈塑料。但其實，每年進入海洋的塑料裏，只有1%被看到漂浮在海面上。那剩下的去哪兒了？
This "missing" plastic has been a longstanding scientific question. To date, the search has focused on oceanic gyres such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the water column (the part of the ocean between the surface and the sea bed), the bottom of the ocean, and the stomachs of marine wildlife.
“消失的”塑料是一個長期存在的科學問題。截至目前，搜尋的重點是海洋環流，比如大太平洋垃圾帶、水柱（海洋表面和海牀之間的部分）、海底和海洋動物的胃。
But our new research suggests ocean plastic is being transported back onshore and pushed permanently onto land away from the water's edge, where it often becomes trapped in vegetation.
但新的研究顯示海洋塑料正在被運回岸上，被永遠推到遠離水邊的陸地上，通常被困在植被中。
Of course, plastic has been reported on beaches around the world for decades. But there has been little focus on why and how coastal environments are a sink for marine debris. Our findings have big implications for how we tackle ocean plastic.
當然，數十年來一直有報道說全球的海岸上有塑料垃圾，但很少有人關注沿海地區爲什麼以及如何成爲了海洋垃圾的彙集地。我們的發現對如何處理海洋塑料意義非凡。
Plastic pollution can be reduced through local changes such as water refill stations, rubbish bins, incentives and awareness campaigns.
塑料污染可以通過局部改變來減少，如補水站、垃圾箱、獎勵以及提高認識的活動。
It can also be reduced through targeted waste management policies to reduce, reuse and recycle plastics. We found container deposit schemes to be a particularly effective incentive in reducing marine pollution.
利用有針對性的廢物管理政策來減少、循環利用塑料也可以減少塑料垃圾。我們發現集裝箱存放計劃就是特別有效的減少海洋污染的激勵措施。
