Like colorful corals, they rocked gently in the ocean current. Only these were not beautiful natural reefs grown over centuries. They were plastic bags, stuck to the Aegean Sea floor since a waste site slid into the water eight years ago. A team of divers and environmentalists pulled thousands of plastic bags from the water near Greece’s Andros island this month. The workers described what they found as a “gulf full of plastic corals.” Seas polluted with plastic have become one of the most shocking signs of human damage to the planet.

What does pollute mean
damage
contaminate
shocking
plastic
What was stuck to the sea floor?
plastic bags
natural reefs
beds of coral
ocean currents
The team pulled thousands of plastic bags.
coral reefs
rubber fish
plastic bags
near the water