eating 9 billion tons of plastic

The Great Pacific garbage patch,
 also described as the Pacific trash vortex,
 is a gyre of marine debris particles in the central North Pacific Ocean
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A 2017 study conducted by scientists
from the University of California, Santa Barbara,
and the University of Georgia, concluded
that of the 9.1 billion tons of plastic produced since 1950,
close to 7 billion tons are no longer in use.

 The authors estimate that only 9 percent
got recycled over the years, while another 12 percent
 was incinerated, leaving 5.5 billion tons of plastic waste
 littering the oceans and land.

 Estimates of size range from 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi)

 (about the size of Texas)

 to more than 15,000,000 square kilometres (5,800,000 sq mi)

 (0.4% to 8% of the size

 of the Pacific Ocean).

 Unlike organic debris, which biodegrades,
 the photodegraded plastic disintegrates into ever smaller pieces
while remaining a polymer. This process continues
 down to the molecular level. As the plastic flotsam photodegrades
into smaller and smaller pieces, it concentrates
in the upper water column. As it disintegrates,
 the plastic ultimately becomes small enough
 to be ingested by aquatic organisms that reside
near the ocean's surface. In this way, plastic may 
become concentrated in neuston, thereby 
entering the food chain.