OCEANSIDE, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) -- Sand toys left behind on the beach can be swept into the ocean by rising tides. Once in the water, plastic toys break down until eventually becoming microplastics--or even smaller nanoplastics.

Plastic waste is endangering both the planet and human health.

Microplastics have been found throughout the human body, including in lungs and blood, according to the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world's oceans and beaches. Meanwhile, an estimated 11 million tons of plastic enter ocean waters every year, and if this trend continues, the total weight of plastic pollution in the ocean could exceed the total weight of all fish in the ocean by 2050--just 25 years away.

From a broken bucket near a collapsing sandca

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