Plastic pollution is now ‘desecrating’ graves of sailors lost at sea

Plastic pollution is now covering historical shipwrecks with rubbish – including World War One and Two ships which are the graves of fallen British servicemen.

Divers investigating the wreck of HMS Invincible are having to deal with piles of plastic waste – and other wrecks are now covered in rubbish.

Marine archaeologist Kevin Stratford told The Telegraph, ‘Shipwrecks act like a reef, trapping the rubbish and acting as an accumulation point for plastics, cans, clothing, paints, glue, carpets, fishing gear. You name it, it’s down there.

‘The majority of shipwrecks don’t have human remains, but in the wrecks of World War One and Two ships bodies ended up sealed inside so you will have rubbish accumulating there too.

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‘You wouldn’t go to a graveyard and dump rubbish there or Stonehenge but nobody can see the impact underwater.’

Earlier this year, divers found a plastic bag lying on the bottom 36,000ft below the surface of the Pacific, in the Mariana Trench, the deepest point in the world’s oceans.

The new find was highlighted among 30,000 pieces of man-made debris seen in the deep ocean, including plastic bags, bottles and packaging.

The deeper divers went on 5,000 international dives, the bigger a percentage of plastic was found among the debris.

Over a third of the debris was micro-plastic, with 89% from single-use products such as plastic bottles.