8 million tons of plastic enter world's oceans each year: study

About 8 million tons of plastic waste wind up in the world's oceans every year, according to a study out Thursday that warned this amount could increase significantly in the next decade unless the international community improves its waste management practices.

Jenna Jambeck from the University of Georgia, along with colleagues from the United States and Australia, studied the sources of ocean-bound plastic around the world and developed models to estimate their annual contributions.