Study: Plastics Decompose in Ocean

As if the pieces of plastic mucking up ocean waters weren't bad enough, a new study finds that this plastic decomposes, causing even more pollution.

The decomposition, caused by exposure to rain, sun and other environmental factors, happens with surprising speed, the researcher said. It also potentially releases toxins into the ocean water, including bisphenol A, thought to disrupt hormone function in animals and affect reproductive systems.

And unfortunately, there's a lot of plastic out there in the ocean. In just one year, about 150,000 tons of plastic debris washes up on the shores of Japan alone, the researchers said.  And the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch, situated between California and Hawaii and currently being studied by the scientists from scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, is mostly plastic and twice the size of Texas.