Divers Discover Colorful Reef Made of Plastic Bags

Divers found a colorful reef in the Aegean waters off Greece’s Andros Island. But instead of the reef being covered in coral, it was enclosed in multicolored plastic bags.

Divers were troubled by their findings because that plastic waste breaks down into microplastics, which hold on to the chemicals found in the water and ends up in the food chain. Divers ended up removing more than 660 pounds of fishing net and pulled up plastic tangled in between reefs, but they were only able to remove a very small percentage of what was there.

VOA has more information:

Divers and environmentalists found an unpleasant surprise in Aegean waters near Greece and are working to fix it.  What looked like colorful coral turned out to be a plastic wasteland, just one of many challenges delicate marine ecosystems face. VOA's Arash Arabasadi dives in for a look.

Check out the full story here.