The ocean floor is turning into a dumping ground. A recent study found that millions of tons of plastic litter the bottom of the world’s oceans and seas. About half of that debris sits in shallow waters near coastlines. And a lot more is expected to settle in the oceans over the coming decades.

The world generates millions of tons of plastic every year—enough to fill a garbage truck every minute. And a lot of it finds its way into the ocean—through runoff, offshore dumping, lost fishing gear, and other sources.

Much of this debris floats on the surface. Some of it forms giant patches, such as the well-known Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Over time, though, a lot of plastic drops into the ocean depths, and much of it settles on the bottom.

To understand how much plastic litters the ocean floor, researchers in Australia poked through the results of many studies. They then developed computer models to analyze those results. Their best model used observations by remotely operated vehicles in the deep ocean.

Their study focused on bits of plastic at least five millimeters across. That accounts for plastic bags, bottles, fishing gear, and other bigger chunks. The model showed that there should be a lot of this debris—somewhere between three million and 12 million tons as of 2020. Almost half of that should be close to shore.

Plastic use is projected to double over the next couple of decades—adding a lot more litter to the ocean floor.