It is widely recognised that marine litter can have significant ecological, social and economic impacts. Plastics form a large proportion of marine litter, and the widespread occurrence of macroscopic plastic debris and the direct impact this can have both on marine fauna and legitimate uses of the environment, sometimes remote from industrial or urban sources, has been well documented. Plastic debris comes in a wide variety of sizes and compositions and has been found throughout the world ocean, carried by ocean currents and biological vectors (e.g.