Killed by pollution: Hundreds of pieces of plastic found inside stomach of sea turtle - 24th Mar 2011

This collection of junk may resemble the rubbish scraped from the bottom of a toolbox - but it is in fact the man-made debris found inside a dead turtle.

The hundreds of shards of plastic were taken from the digestive system of a young turtle who is thought to have died from pollution poisoning before washing up off the coast of Argentina.

The find highlights the problem of masses of non-biodegradable materials blighting our seas and their inhabitants.

Ocean currents keep the plastic in the sea in giant rubbish dumps, which are fatal to sea life.

When plastic is in the sea for a long time it photodegrades into smaller and smaller pieces until it is small enough to be ingested by organisms near the surface - thus entering the food chain.

Fish and sea birds eat the debris thinking it is food, and it is likely this unfortunate turtle mistook the plastic for jellyfish or another type of food.

The jagged pieces of plastic can cause deadly internal damage by perforating organs and causing a blockage in the bowels. Read More