June 2016, Plastics in the Marine Environment, Eunomia Research & Consulting Ltd
Published on by Kim van Arkel, Scientific Advisor in Education
Platics in the Marine Environment: Where do they come from ? Where do they go ?
Here is a short report published by Eunomia with an infographic part to highlight the principal sources of plastic in oceans.
- " Over 80% of the annual input comes from land-based sources."
- " 94% of the plastic that enters the ocean ends up on the sea floor."
- " Barely 1% of marine plastics are found floating at or near the ocean surface, with an average global concentration of less than 1 kg/km2."
- " By contrast, the amount estimated to be on beaches globally is five time greater, and importantly, the concentration is much higher, at 2,000 kg/km2."
This report seems to point out that regular beach cleaning efforts are more efficient than removing plastics floating in mid-ocean, good news right ?
Taxonomy
- Marine litter
- Beach Sampling
- Beach Cleaning