Large deep-sea garbage patch discovered by Chinese submarine

A Chinese submarine has captured images of a large garbage patch at the bottom of the ocean, reports CCTV.

A large patch of garbage discovered by China's Deep Sea Warrior submarine about 2,000 meters underwater. [Screenshot: China Plus] 

The crew of the Deep Sea Warrior captured for the first time images of a huge amount of rubbish, including many plastic bags, on a patch of seafloor about 2,000 meters underwater.

A large patch of garbage discovered by China's Deep Sea Warrior submarine about 2,000 meters underwater. [Screenshot: China Plus] 

An increasing amount of rubbish, especially plastics, has been found in the world's oceans in recent years. This has led to growing concern worldwide to the problem of plastic waste and its impact on marine life. Plastic can be ingested by marine species, causing them to choke or starve.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the northern Pacific Ocean is the most notorious marine garbage patch. But plastic waste has made its way into the deepest parts of the ocean: According to a study released last October, the deepest known piece of plastic waste was found at a depth of nearly 11,000 meters inside the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean.

Plastic samples collected from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. [File Photo: IC] 

Annual plastic production surged to 381 million tonnes in 2015, up from only 2 million tons in 1950, according to figures from Our World in Data, which is a collaboration between Oxford University and the Global Change Data Lab.