An end-of-summer trawl across the floor of the Mediterranean between France
and Corsica has collected over 300 million pieces of rubbish, including plastic
sacks, glass bottles, packaging and other debris. Scientists from IFREMER, the
French national institute for marine research in Nantes, gathered the garbage
from as far down as 2550 metres. They say that in some areas it was so thick
that it was endangering sea creatures, which become entangled in it.
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features

Environment
Evocative photos of Canadian Arctic win New Scientist Editors Award
Regulars

Environment
June heatwave may have killed around 20,000 people in Europe
News

Physics
Random wobbles in time could finally solve gravity’s greatest mystery
News

Life
Synthetic biology may finally be ready to solve life's biggest mystery
Leader
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
Humans sleep the least of all apes – is it the secret to our success?
2
A type of fibre that stimulates GLP-1 release approved for use in food
3
Random wobbles in time could finally solve gravity’s greatest mystery
4
The weirdness of neutrinos could completely rewrite particle physics
5
What is 'SpudCell'? Arguably the greatest bioengineering feat yet
6
The 4 must-watch science-fiction films of the year so far
7
Synthetic biology may finally be ready to solve life's biggest mystery
8
The surprising ways your brain changes from your 20s to your 40s
9
The best new science-fiction novels published in July 2026
10
June heatwave may have killed around 20,000 people in Europe