Facts of plastic in the ocean
So how much plastic is actually in the oceans? What is it? And where does it come from? Sure, we may never really see how much plastic is in the oceans, but the fact is there's millions and millions of tons of plastic effecting the oceans.
Knowledge is the first step to making a change.
What is all the rubbish made of?
60-90% of marine litter is plastic-based
80% of trash in the ocean is from land-based sources, only 20% is from ocean-based sources such as fishing and diving.
Research estimates anywhere from 15 to 51 trillion particles of floating micro plastic are in our oceans.
How much plastic is in our oceans?
60-90% of marine litter is plastic-based
Our plastic waste has created a gigantic “plastic soup” in the Pacific of up to 15 million square kilometers - almost the size of Russia
Over the next 10 years, the plastic soup could double in size. At this speed, the plastic grows as much as 8 football fields every second
An estimated 5 trillion pieces of plastic are afloat on the ocean
Where does the plastic come from?
Major rivers around the world carry an estimated 1.15-2.41 million tons of plastic into the sea every year – that’s up to 100,000 rubbish trucks.
60% of the oceans plastic comes from China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
80% of plastic is from land-based sources, such as our rubbish, microbeads that end up down the drain and non-monitored industrial leakage.
