Effect of plastic waste on sea turtles (IMAGE) Tokyo Institute of Technology Caption Plastic in the digestive contents increase when there is more plastic in the environment and when ingested plastics are hard to process. Severely affected individual turtles grow slower, produce fewer eggs, and may even die, all of which reflects on population growth. Especially worrisome are cases when individuals appear relatively healthy, but their weakened growth, reproduction, and survival cause a population decline. Credit Ecology Letters Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.