This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Plastic pollution is a growing threat to marine environments, with discarded waste reaching from coastlines to the deepest parts of the ocean. Now, a six-year study has revealed how quickly debris can accumulate on a beach in Ecuador, with one monitoring site collecting about 570 grams (1.25 pounds) of debris every week.
The findings, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, also reveal how plastic pollution extends far beyond the shoreline. Researchers discovered discarded bags, food packaging, bottles and fishing gear more than 3,900 meters (12,800 feet) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean. This is the first documented evidence of plastic pollution in the abyssal depths of the eastern equatorial Pacific, a region where deep-sea debris has been largely unexplored.
From 2019 to 2025, François Michaud of Paris's Sorbonne University and colleagues collected more than 150 kilograms (330 pounds) of debris from a stretch of beach near Salinas, Ecuador. The 100-square-meter (1,080-square-foot) site accumulated an average of 566 grams (1.25 pounds) of waste every week, although the amount varied considerably. On more than 10 visits, researchers found no visible plastic at all.
Fishing activities were the biggest source of debris, accounting for more than half of the items collected, including discarded or broken nets, fishing lines and buoys. Researchers also found containers that had held grease, fuel and water, as well as other fishing-related waste. The amount of debris collected rose sharply from 2021 onward, reaching its highest level in 2024, when researchers recovered a discarded fishing net weighing around 50 kilograms (110 pounds), the largest item of the haul.
More than 45% of the items were linked to tourism and recreation, including food packaging and disposable containers. These were particularly common after holiday periods, pointing to a link between visitor numbers and the amount of waste reaching the beach. Other items included medical waste, such as syringes, medicine bottles and face masks, particularly in 2021.
The team also found small plastic pellets and fragments, evidence that larger pieces of debris were breaking down into smaller particles. To see how far plastic pollution extends beyond the shoreline, researchers also surveyed the seafloor along Ecuador's Pacific coast. In February 2024, a crewed research submersible explored depths of more than 3,900 meters (12,800 feet), revealing plastic debris scattered across the deep ocean floor.
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