July 05, 2019
The Sea of Plastic
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that over 300 million tons of plastic are produced every year, half of which is used in making single-use items such as shopping bags, cups and straws. Only nine percent of the nine billion tons of plastic the world has ever produced has been recycled, with the remaining ending up in landfills, dumps or in the environment. This includes at least eight million tons of plastic ending up in the oceans every year. Floating plastic debris is currently the most abundant item of marine litter, making up 80 percent of all marine debris.