Plastic sludge and garbage, a blight on the world's oceans.
塑料污泥和垃圾，是世界海洋的一大祸害。
A film crew traveled the globe to document the rubbish.
一个摄影组前往世界各地来记录海洋中的垃圾。
And Julie Andersen of the Plastic Oceans Foundation says what we see is just the tip of the problem.
塑胶海洋基金会成员朱莉.安德森表示，我们现在所看到的问题不过是冰山一角罢了。
"Half of the waste actually sinks to the bottom, some plastic sinks to the bottom, and that that remains on the surface actually breaks down."
“实际上有一半的垃圾都沉入了海底，一些塑料沉入海底，另一些残留在表面上的实际上已经分解了。”
The filmmakers found trash in ocean gyres, the circulating currents that trap large concentrations of pollution in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans,home of what some have called a plastic island.
制片人在大洋环流中也发现了垃圾，这种循环海流在大西洋、印度洋和太平洋地区捕捉了大量污染物，因此也被称为塑料岛之乡。
"What we found in the center of the Pacific was not a floating island of plastic. What we found was a plastic smog that permeated all the water. And in some parts of the oceans, scientists have found more plastic than the planted."
“我们在太平洋中心发现的不是一个浮动的塑料岛。而是渗透到整片海水当中去的塑料烟雾。在海洋当中某些地方，科学家发现的塑料比植物还要多。”

The debris infects the food chain, sometimes visibly, and more so at the microscopic level, where the plastic particles interact with other pollutants.
塑料碎片会影响食物链，这种影响有时明显，但更多的时候还是在微观层面上，塑料微粒会与其他污染物相互作用。
"Heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, industrial runoff, it acts like magnets. These toxins hitchhike on the plastic, and then when seafood ingests the plastics, those toxins offload into the fatty tissues."
“海水当中有重金属、医药品还有工业废料等。塑料就像是磁铁一样，可以把这些毒素吸附到自己身上，而这些塑料一旦进入海鲜体内，下一步就会流入它们的脂肪组织。”
To be consumed by other sea life and by people.
最终被其它海洋生物和人类摄入。
China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are the worst plastic polluters. The United States, although a leader in recycling, is one of the world's 20 since it produces and consumes so much plastic.
中国、印度尼西亚、菲律宾、泰国和越南是塑料污染最严重的国家。而美国虽然在循环利用方面处于领先地位，可是却因为生产并消耗了太多塑料而在世界污染前20中占了一席之地。
There are efforts around the world to address the problem, including at this newly opened recycling center in Lebanon.
如今全世界都在努力解决这一问题，其中包括在黎巴嫩新开放的回收中心。
But Andersen says there is more that people can do.
不过安德森称，人类能做的不止如此。
"Cut back on single-use plastics, straws, plastic cups, plastic water bottles, plastic bags and find alternatives like reusable materials." She says healthy oceans are essential to our survival.
“减少一次性塑料、吸管、塑料杯、塑料水瓶和塑料袋的使用，并找到可重复利用的材料等替代品。”她表示，健康的海洋对我们的生存至关重要。
Mike O'Sullivan, VOA news, Los Angeles.
VOA新闻，迈克•奥沙利文于洛杉矶为您播报。