UNEP Frontiers 2016 Report - Chapter 3

As the world's demand for plastic materials continues to grow, the management of plastic waste remains a global challenge. In 2014, global plastic production exceeded 311 million metric tons, representing a 4.0 per cent increase over 2013.¹ In 2010, out of the 2.5 billion metric tons of solid waste generated by 192 countries, approximately 275 million tons consisted of plastic. It has been estimated that between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons entered the ocean as a result of inadequate solid waste management.² Concern about visible plastic debris is increasing, while recent research reports the growing presence and abundance of microplastics in marine environments.³–⁶ These small plastic particles, ranging in size from a virus to an ant, can now be found worldwide, including in the waters of lakes and seas, the sediments of rivers and deltas, and the stomachs of various organisms ranging from zooplankton to whales. Microplastics have been detected in environments as remote as a Mongolian mountain lake and deep-sea sediments deposited five kilometres below sea level.⁷–⁹ One study estimated that, on average, every square kilometre of the world's oceans contains 63,320 microplastic particles floating at the surface, with significant regional variations; for example, concentrations in East Asian seas are 27 times higher.¹⁰˒¹¹ Marine organisms—including zooplankton, invertebrates, fishes, seabirds, and whales—can be exposed to microplastics through the direct ingestion of water and indirectly as predators within food webs. Full report is available at: https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/7664