Ocean plastic pollution
- At least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our
oceans every year. Floating plastic debris are currently the most abundant
items of marine litter. Waste plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris from
surface waters to deep-sea sediments. Plastic has been detected on shorelines
of all the continents, with more plastic materials found near popular tourist
destinations and densely populated areas.
- By 2050, plastic in the oceans will outweigh fish,
predicts a report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in partnership with the
World Economic Forum. The report projects the oceans will contain at least 937
million tons of plastic and 895 million tons of fish by 2050.
- According to National Geographic, 73% of all beach
litter is plastic. The litter includes filters from cigarette butts, bottles,
bottle caps, food wrappers, grocery bags, and polystyrene containers.
- According to a report from the Guardian, an estimated
8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced since the 1950s — that’s
equivalent to the weight of more than 800,000 Eiffel Towers. And only 9% of it
has been recycled.
- That's over 55,000 bottles every hour, 1,000 bottles
per minute. In addition to this, we've provided 200,000 paid workdays for coastline
plastic collectors.
- According to the United Nations, ingestion of plastic
kills an estimated 1 million marine birds and 100,000 marine animals each year.
- Additionally, more than 90% of all birds and fish are
believed to have plastic particles in their stomach. It’s because plastic
breaks up into tiny pieces in the sea, which are then consumed by fish and
other sea animals.
