The short film, published by National Geographic, illustrates dozens of plastic bottles on the seafloor, giving a picture of the magnitude of marine pollution. It is estimated that humans have produced about 6 billion metric tons of plastic waste up to 2015, only 9% of which was recycled. 12 billion tons of plastic is expected to end up on landfills or enter the marine environment by 2050.
Series blog posts on plastic marine debris and microplastics
Plastic products found at sea range from common domestic material (bags, Styrofoam cups, bottles, balloons), industrial products (strapping bands, plastic sheeting, hard hats) and lost or discarded fishing gear (nets, buoys, traps, lines). Thus, they can come from a variety of land and ocean based sources, enter the water and impact the ocean ecosystem.
UN says that plastic debris results in an estimated $13 billion a year in losses from damage to marine ecosystems, including financial losses to fisheries and tourism as well as time spent cleaning beaches.
