An individual creates four and a half pounds of waste every day compared to two and a half pounds per person in the 1960s. With this increased amount of waste, there are limited amounts of outlets to properly dispose of waste. Most of this waste travels to the oceans and endangers marine life and their habitats. The main types of debris that cause the most damage to ocean organisms are plastic from various sources, such as landfills and human recreational activities, ropes used for fishing, and remnants of human recreational activities. Plastic is the most harmful form of debris for marine life because it has a tendency to break down into tiny sizes similar to zooplankton, which is a major food source for some marine animals. Microplastics are concentrated in the ocean's surface waters, where many zooplankton and other food sources live. Organisms that emerge to the surface to feed on zooplankton instead consume surprising quantities of plastic. These plastics provide no nutritional value and introduce potential dangers to the internal organs of the animal that ingests the waste, such as puncturing stomach walls, blocking digestive tracts, impeding normal eating habits, diluting diets, and ingesting chemicals contained in the plastic (Schuyler, Hardesty, Wilcox and Townsend 1). Marine pollution not only destroys the habitats of marine life, but also affects the species that inhabit the oceans by contaminating their food and endangering their health. Mass production of plastic began in the 1950s. Even as large quantities of plastic began to be generated, the amount of waste was “estimated[d]… [to be] three to four orders of magnitude smaller [than current social statistics] and limited to the most degradable items” ( Barnes 1988). The decades… half the paper… organized in many countries and on every continent” (Barnes 1985). Together with aid from non-profit organizations and volunteers, MARPOL Annex V “addresses solid wastes [such as] household waste, including galley waste and food packaging… old fishing gear… and cargo-related waste" (Clean Ships 16) which is often discarded from ships. Without maintaining the oceans, saltwater use will be limited or stopped, preventing a large number of human activities such as fishing, scuba diving, snorkeling and general enjoyment. The amount of microplastic and macroplastic cannot be drastically reduced in a short period of time, but differences can be achieved over long periods of time. Recycling, removing waste and preventing the loss of non-biodegradable products can help reduce the amount of plastic debris present in surface waters and at different levels of the ocean.