A large new study indicates that there is a significant amount of plastic floating in the ocean. Researchers discovered that there are over 5 trillion pieces of plastic floating in oceans throughout the world, with a combined weight of roughly 269,000 tons. Results from the study, which includes scientists from the U.S., France, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile, were published this week in the journal PLOS One.

Although they caution that there estimates are “highly conservative,” the scientists stress that these floating plastic pieces are a serious threat to the environment and pose health risks along the food chain. The number of plastic is equal to roughly 700 pieces of plastic for every person on Earth.

Most pieces of plastic measured less than five millimeters. The plastics, and toxins or chemicals they carry, enter into the food chain when they are first consumed by small fish. Ultimately the larger fish prey on the smaller fish and are then ingested by humans. The larger pieces of trash are more harmful to maritime animals.

The large study features data collected from 24 separate ocean excursions between 2007 and 2013.

Julia Reisser, a researcher at the University of Western Australia, said in a statement, “We saw turtles that ate plastic bags and fish that ingested fishing lines. But there are also chemical impacts. When plastic gets into the water it acts like a magnet for oily pollutants.”

The authors highlight the importance of having a complete recovery plan for plastics, and stress using more environmentally-friendly materials.

The American Chemistry Council said in a press release following the recent research, “Plastics makers in the United States and around the globe are engaged in many efforts to prevent and address marine litter. In 2011 leaders from the world’s plastics associations signed The Declaration of the Global Plastics Associations for Solutions on Marine Litter, a public commitment aimed at contributing to real solutions to address marine litter.”