by BBC.co.uk

As England prepares to introduce a charge for plastic bags, science editor David Shukman reports on the possible threat to the food chain, by the plastics broken down into tiny fragments in our oceans.

Tests by the Plymouth Marine Laboratory have shown that when minuscule particles of plastic are in the water, the creatures at the bottom of the food chain do ingest them.

An estimated eight million tonnes of plastic waste is added to the oceans every year.

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