Birds, particularly gulls and storks, are significant vectors for spreading plastic pollution into sensitive natural areas through a process known as "biovectoring." This occurs when birds ingest plastic waste along with food at landfills and then regurgitate it at their roosting sites, including protected wetlands.

• Scientists estimate that lesser black-backed gulls deposit an average of 400kg of plastics and over two tonnes of other debris annually into Spain's Fuente de Piedra lake.
• Research led by Professor Andy J. Green, an ecologist at Estación Biológica de Doñana, quantifies this environmental impact.
• In the Cádiz Bay wetlands, an estimated 530kg of plastics are spread annually by gulls and white storks into different microhabitats.