Traveling plastics: how does plastic waste end up in the ocean?

WHAT IS THE PLASTIC SOUP?

Plastic is a relative ‘new’ problem, as it was invented in the late 19th century and production took off around 1950. And that late invention is probably a good thing. Imagine that our ancestors already produced plastic, then the world we live in today would look a lot different. Something like a big plastic dystopia.

Nowadays, plastic is integrated in a lot of products we use everyday. Plastic has a very wide range of properties such as being lightweight, durable, flexible and inexpensive to use. This has led to a profound widespread use and more than half of the plastics being produced are very recent. More than halve of the plastics produced is since 2004. Plastic production has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastics overwhelms our ability to deal with them. Hence, we call this the plastic soup.

HOW BIG IS THE PLASTIC SOUP?

Let’s not lie. Our plastic problem is big. But it is hard to say how big. This is because only in the recent 25 years, the plastic pollution has been a phenomenon and is still being studied.

Furthermore, plastic production is still increasing. Figures about how much is actually recycled worldwide are not easy to come by. But scientist from around the world are trying to get a grip on both the extent and the consequences of the plastic soup in the last years.

HOW MUCH PLASTIC IS PRODUCED, A PERSON?

According to the plastic Atlas, between 1950 and 2017, a total of 9,2 bilion tonnes of plastic is produced. You do the math. That is more than a ton per living person on the earth.

Out of all these plastics, less than 10 percent of all the plastic is recycled. That leaves a lot for ending up in our environment and oceans. So how does plastic go from buying in the supermarket to ending up in the ocean?

TRAVELING PLASTICS

It is no shocker: the plastics we use has a high chance of ending up in the ocean. Even if you live a hundred miles from the coast, the plastic bottle you throw away in the bin can make it all the way into the sea.

Unfortunately, when plastics do end op in de oceans, it is very hard to decompose. This is a very slow proces. Normally, it ends up in smaller pieces known as microplastics – Like the PFAS we mentioned earlier. And this is bad for a lot of reasons. As it enters the marine food chain and even ends up in the soil where we grow our foods. So how does plastic end up in the ocean?

There are three main ways for plastic to end up in the ocean, but the main take away is this: it is us. We humans are the reason, whether we mean it or not.

Plastics end up in the ocean because of:

Throwing it in the non-recycle bin
Littering
Products that go down the drain

WHAT IS THE PLASTIC SOUP?

Plastic is a relative ‘new’ problem, as it was invented in the late 19th century and production took off around 1950. And that late invention is probably a good thing. Imagine that our ancestors already produced plastic, then the world we live in today would look a lot different. Something like a big plastic dystopia.

Nowadays, plastic is integrated in a lot of products we use everyday. Plastic has a very wide range of properties such as being lightweight, durable, flexible and inexpensive to use. This has led to a profound widespread use and more than half of the plastics being produced are very recent. More than halve of the plastics produced is since 2004. Plastic production has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastics overwhelms our ability to deal with them. Hence, we call this the plastic soup.

HOW BIG IS THE PLASTIC SOUP?

Let’s not lie. Our plastic problem is big. But it is hard to say how big. This is because only in the recent 25 years, the plastic pollution has been a phenomenon and is still being studied.

Furthermore, plastic production is still increasing. Figures about how much is actually recycled worldwide are not easy to come by. But scientist from around the world are trying to get a grip on both the extent and the consequences of the plastic soup in the last years.

HOW MUCH PLASTIC IS PRODUCED, A PERSON?

According to the plastic Atlas, between 1950 and 2017, a total of 9,2 bilion tonnes of plastic is produced. You do the math. That is more than a ton per living person on the earth.

Out of all these plastics, less than 10 percent of all the plastic is recycled. That leaves a lot for ending up in our environment and oceans. So how does plastic go from buying in the supermarket to ending up in the ocean?

TRAVELING PLASTICS

It is no shocker: the plastics we use has a high chance of ending up in the ocean. Even if you live a hundred miles from the coast, the plastic bottle you throw away in the bin can make it all the way into the sea.

Unfortunately, when plastics do end op in de oceans, it is very hard to decompose. This is a very slow proces. Normally, it ends up in smaller pieces known as microplastics – Like the PFAS we mentioned earlier. And this is bad for a lot of reasons. As it enters the marine food chain and even ends up in the soil where we grow our foods. So how does plastic end up in the ocean?

There are three main ways for plastic to end up in the ocean, but the main take away is this: it is us. We humans are the reason, whether we mean it or not.

Plastics end up in the ocean because of:

Throwing it in the non-recycle bin
Littering
Products that go down the drain

WHAT IS THE PLASTIC SOUP?

Plastic is a relative ‘new’ problem, as it was invented in the late 19th century and production took off around 1950. And that late invention is probably a good thing. Imagine that our ancestors already produced plastic, then the world we live in today would look a lot different. Something like a big plastic dystopia.

Nowadays, plastic is integrated in a lot of products we use everyday. Plastic has a very wide range of properties such as being lightweight, durable, flexible and inexpensive to use. This has led to a profound widespread use and more than half of the plastics being produced are very recent. More than halve of the plastics produced is since 2004. Plastic production has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastics overwhelms our ability to deal with them. Hence, we call this the plastic soup.

HOW BIG IS THE PLASTIC SOUP?

Let’s not lie. Our plastic problem is big. But it is hard to say how big. This is because only in the recent 25 years, the plastic pollution has been a phenomenon and is still being studied.

Furthermore, plastic production is still increasing. Figures about how much is actually recycled worldwide are not easy to come by. But scientist from around the world are trying to get a grip on both the extent and the consequences of the plastic soup in the last years.

HOW MUCH PLASTIC IS PRODUCED, A PERSON?

According to the plastic Atlas, between 1950 and 2017, a total of 9,2 bilion tonnes of plastic is produced. You do the math. That is more than a ton per living person on the earth.

Out of all these plastics, less than 10 percent of all the plastic is recycled. That leaves a lot for ending up in our environment and oceans. So how does plastic go from buying in the supermarket to ending up in the ocean?

TRAVELING PLASTICS

It is no shocker: the plastics we use has a high chance of ending up in the ocean. Even if you live a hundred miles from the coast, the plastic bottle you throw away in the bin can make it all the way into the sea.

Unfortunately, when plastics do end op in de oceans, it is very hard to decompose. This is a very slow proces. Normally, it ends up in smaller pieces known as microplastics – Like the PFAS we mentioned earlier. And this is bad for a lot of reasons. As it enters the marine food chain and even ends up in the soil where we grow our foods. So how does plastic end up in the ocean?

There are three main ways for plastic to end up in the ocean, but the main take away is this: it is us. We humans are the reason, whether we mean it or not.

Plastics end up in the ocean because of:

Throwing it in the non-recycle bin
Littering
Products that go down the drain

WHAT IS THE PLASTIC SOUP?

Plastic is a relative ‘new’ problem, as it was invented in the late 19th century and production took off around 1950. And that late invention is probably a good thing. Imagine that our ancestors already produced plastic, then the world we live in today would look a lot different. Something like a big plastic dystopia.

Nowadays, plastic is integrated in a lot of products we use everyday. Plastic has a very wide range of properties such as being lightweight, durable, flexible and inexpensive to use. This has led to a profound widespread use and more than half of the plastics being produced are very recent. More than halve of the plastics produced is since 2004. Plastic production has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastics overwhelms our ability to deal with them. Hence, we call this the plastic soup.

HOW BIG IS THE PLASTIC SOUP?

Let’s not lie. Our plastic problem is big. But it is hard to say how big. This is because only in the recent 25 years, the plastic pollution has been a phenomenon and is still being studied.

Furthermore, plastic production is still increasing. Figures about how much is actually recycled worldwide are not easy to come by. But scientist from around the world are trying to get a grip on both the extent and the consequences of the plastic soup in the last years.

HOW MUCH PLASTIC IS PRODUCED, A PERSON?

According to the plastic Atlas, between 1950 and 2017, a total of 9,2 bilion tonnes of plastic is produced. You do the math. That is more than a ton per living person on the earth.

Out of all these plastics, less than 10 percent of all the plastic is recycled. That leaves a lot for ending up in our environment and oceans. So how does plastic go from buying in the supermarket to ending up in the ocean?

TRAVELING PLASTICS

It is no shocker: the plastics we use has a high chance of ending up in the ocean. Even if you live a hundred miles from the coast, the plastic bottle you throw away in the bin can make it all the way into the sea.

Unfortunately, when plastics do end op in de oceans, it is very hard to decompose. This is a very slow proces. Normally, it ends up in smaller pieces known as microplastics – Like the PFAS we mentioned earlier. And this is bad for a lot of reasons. As it enters the marine food chain and even ends up in the soil where we grow our foods. So how does plastic end up in the ocean?

There are three main ways for plastic to end up in the ocean, but the main take away is this: it is us. We humans are the reason, whether we mean it or not.

Plastics end up in the ocean because of:

Throwing it in the non-recycle bin
Littering
Products that go down the drain