A previous study found that between 4.8 million and 12.7 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010 from people living within 50 kilometers (31 miles) of the coastline. The plastic in our oceans weighs the equivalent of 38,000 elephants, and, laid end-to-end, could circle the Earth 425 times. Advocates for plastic bag bans often neglect to ask what will replace plastic bags and what the environmental impact of that replacement will be. In 2016, the U.S. recycled just 9% of its total plastic waste. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's updated figure for fish in the sea in 2050 is roughly 899 million tonnes. Last year, a nonprofit organization called The Ocean … ... Data from 2016… Researchers have estimated that up to 12 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean every year – that’s the equivalent of a rubbish truck every single minute. A 2016 study suggests interaction with marine organisms is another possible transport method. The same study, published in the journal Science in 2015, surveyed 192 coastal countries contributing to ocean plastic waste, and found that Asian nations were 13 of the 20 biggest contributors. SHOCKING OCEAN PLASTIC STATISTICS: More than 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die from plastic pollution every year.. 100% of baby sea turtles have plastic in their stomachs.. Nick Mallos/Ocean Conservancy. facebook. 8 o" The same research by Jambeck et al. One in three leatherback turtles, which often mistake plastic bags for edible jellyfish, have been found with plastic in their bellies. Much of the plastic in the ocean today comes directly from sources on land, often reaching the ocean as runoff that moves improperly discarded trash from land to river and finally, the ocean. This plastic is taken by the ocean currents and accumulates in large vortexes known as ocean gyres. This review article summarises the sources, occurrence, fate and effects of plastic waste in the marine environment. How Much Plastic Is in the Ocean? Summary: How much mismanaged plastic waste is making its way from land to ocean has been a decades-long guessing game. In 2015, research led by Jenna Jambeck, a professor at the University of Georgia, identified China as the world’s largest source of plastic waste reaching the ocean – accounting for nearly one-third of the total in 2010. The Facts. “More than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year.”. The Facts Are Overwhelming. The proliferation of plastic products in the last several decades has been extraordinary. The UN also reports as much as 40% of the ocean area is severely polluted. There are five massive patches of plastic in the oceans around the world. The objective of the research team at The Ocean Cleanup is to close the ocean plastic mass balance. A staggering 2.7 million tons of plastic waste are generated in the Philippines each year, 20 percent of which is estimated to end up in the ocean (McKinsey, 2015). In 2016, world plastics production totaled around 335 million metric tons. I walked into the Plastic Oceans event not expecting much. Of those, 236,000 tons are microplastics [2] – tiny pieces of broken-down plastic smaller than your little fingernail. ... how much micro-plastic did the North Atlantic gyre estimate to have? Email. Nets and other fishing equipment that have been lost or discarded at sea are thought to make up a large fraction of marine plastic. That would be equivalent to the weight of 1.2 million elephants. That’s as much as a full garbage truck of plastic being dumped into the sea every minute. In a recent report, Ocean Conservancy claims that China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are spewing out as much as 60 percent of the plastic waste that enters the world… Only about 23% of plastic … ... Knowing how much plastic sinks to the ocean … Much of the plastic in the ocean today comes directly from sources on land, often reaching the ocean as runoff that moves improperly discarded trash from land to river and finally, the ocean. In this April 23, 2019, aerial photo, plastic bottles and other garbage float in river Drina near Visegrad, eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina. Adidas and Parley for the Oceans are not alone in their ocean plastic upcycling efforts. The U.S. has a relatively robust waste infrastructure, yet an estimated five times as much plastic pollution entered the oceans in 2016 than in 2010. 14 2016 Ocean Trash Index 20 Status Report: Science, Policy & Partners 22 2016 Cleanup Coordinators 25 Acknowledgments CONTENTS On behalf of all of us at Ocean Conservancy, I would like to thank the more than half a million volunteers who made the 2016 International Coastal Cleanup a success. A 2016 Ellen MacArthur Foundation study predicted oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050 if no actions are taken to … One study suggests that between 4.8 million and 12.7 million tons of plastic end up in oceans each year (Cressey, 2016). The problem for the ocean is that about 8 million metric tons of plastic are estimated to enter the ocean each year. The problem with plastic. People are working on strategies to remove millions of tons of plastic waste from the ocean… Impact of Plastic on the Ocean Community. Plastic debris has been accumulating rapidly in the world’s ocean, roughly doubling every decade. There is much more than that. It is now believed that there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 250 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea. Twitter. The sunglasses company Norton Point launched a line of three eco-friendly sunglasses in 2016. PET is commonly used in many products that end up as ocean pollution, from disposable water bottles to commercial fishing equipment. Plastic producers and major consumer goods companies have argued that if we just build up recycling infrastructure in Africa and Asia, then we can continue churning out single-use plastic. Roughly half of our global annual plastic production is destined for a single-use product. Debris was recorded at 188 locations along the Australian coastline. Based on the authors’ findings, China and five other Asian nations were responsible for most of the 9.4 million tons (8.5 million metric tons) of plastic waste entering the oceans each year. The study estimates that in 2016, the United States contributed between 1.1 and 2.2 million metric tons of plastic waste to the oceans through a combination of … FACT #1. Oceans swallowed 13 million tonnes of plastic in 2010. The numbers are staggering: There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea. Scientists call these statistics the "wow factor" of ocean trash. Yet it emits 100 times as much plastic to the ocean each year (200 to 300 tonnes versus only 3 to 5 tonnes). Plastic is ubiquitous and its dark side is that it is a very long-lived substance. by Tyler Cowen January 20, 2016 at 1:43 pm. A Plastic Ocean grabs your attention immediately, with what might be one of the greatest horror reveals in cinema. It may damage ecosystems and marine animals, contaminate our food supply, and lead to chemical leaching. How Much Plastic Is in the Ocean? However, the estimate only takes into account three of the most common types of plastic litter in a limited size range. An estimate2from UNEP suggests that this ‘ghost’ fishing gear makes up 10% of all marine litter, or around 640,000 tonnes. According to Dr. Jenna Jambeck’s 2015 ocean plastics study–one of the most comprehensive ocean plastics studies to date–the nation stands as the third largest global contributor […] (Courtesy Nick Mallos/Ocean Conservancy) The United States generated 42 million metric tons of plastic waste in … Single-use plastics are a major issue, as they’re often used for an extremely brief amount of time before being discarded. In 2016, the Ocean Cleanup foundation used a Hercules C-130 aircraft to conduct an aerial survey of the region to refine its data and count larger pieces of plastic (greater than 50 centimeters). ... 2016, 10:53am EST Share this story. The United Nations states that over three billion people rely on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. ... “The impact of debris on marine life,” Marine Pollution Bulletin 6, no. About 8 million metric tons of plastic are thrown into the ocean annually [1]. what breaks down plastic into smaller pieces of plastic in the ocean? This new study set out to discover what happens to it. Unlike some past estimates, the study includes the plastic trash that the U.S. sends elsewhere. estimated that approximately eight million metric tons of plastic end up in our ocean every year. The glasses are made out of the plastic HDPE—high-density polyethylene—which was taken from the ocean and recycled. Plastic waste discarded in the ocean raises a number of concerns, scientists say. Plastiback is a floating ocean bioreactor containing genetically modified E. coli bacteria, which is used to identify and degrade a type of micro-plastic called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). Although the exact amount of plastic in the oceans cannot be accurately quantified, it is estimated that 150 million metric tons of plastic circulate the world's oceans. The ocean contains an estimated 150 million tons of plastic, with 8 million tons added annually-equivalent to a garbage truck load every minute. About 8 million tons of plastic is dumped into the world´s oceans every year. How much plastic is in the ocean and how did it get there? HUMANS use a staggering one million plastic bottles every minute and most end up in the ocean or landfill, sparking a crisis that experts say is as bad as climate change. Every day around 8 million pieces of plastic makes their way into our oceans. The new study has now revealed that Americans contributed between 1.1 and 2.2 million metric tons of plastic to the oceans in 2016. There is now 5.25 trillion macro and micro pieces of plastic in our ocean & 46,000 pieces in every square mile of ocean, weighing up to 269,000 tonnes. Each year, despite conservation efforts, 8 million tons of plastic reaches our oceans to meet the 150 million metric tons of plastic that already exists in marine environments. But not all plastic sinks. A Sea Of Plastic. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest accumulation of ocean plastic in the world and is located between Hawaii and California. The oceans span three-fourths of the planet’s surface, which is 99% of the living space on Earth by volume. Due to its resistance to degradation, most plastic debris will persist in the environment for centuries and may be transported far from its source, including great distances out to sea. There are beautiful shots of the seas Atlantic Ocean could contain up to 200 MILLION tonnes of plastic pollution - ten times more than previously thought, study finds. If we keep producing (and failing to properly dispose of) plastics at predicted rates, plastics in the ocean will outweigh fish pound for pound in 2050, the non-profit foundation said in a report Tuesday. Plastic pollution is ubiquitous throughout the marine environment, yet estimates of the global abundance and weight of floating plastics have lacked data, particularly from the Southern Hemisphere and remote regions. ... 06.10.2016 02:48 PM. Vast floating islands of plastic are just a drop in the ocean compared with what’s lurking deeper down. With the uneven distribution of use-time and degradation-time, on top of the rate at which this waste is entering the ocean, our plastic … November 19, 2016 at 4:57 am. #2: Humans buy about 1,000,000 plastic bottles per minute in total. Our ocean is in trouble. With between 4.8 and 12.7 million metric tons going in, researchers like Law are only finding between 6,350 and 245,000 metric tons floating on the ocean’s surface. the upper shoe is made from parley ‘ocean plastic ... to be tailored to the individual needs of any athlete. A peek into HP's investment in reducing ocean-bound plastic in Haiti.
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