plastic pollu-tion

The new oxygen.

Approx. 8 million
tonnes of plastic enter
our water
each year.


each year.

This is more
than the

number of stars
in our

galaxy.

Approx. 8 million
tonnes of plastic enter
our water
each year.

//change to stats on micro plastics in air  By 2050, researchers believe there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, and the profound effects plastic pollution has already had on our ecosystems over the past 50 years are only set to be overtaken in the next – these effects posing deep concerns towards the environment, non-human animals and our health.

By 2050, researchers believe there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, and the profound effects plastic pollution has already had on our ecosystems over the past 50 years are only set to be overtaken in the next – these effects posing deep concerns towards the environment, non-human animals and our health. 

By 2050, researchers believe there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean, and the profound effects plastic pollution has already had on our ecosystems over the past 50 years are only set to be overtaken in the next – these effects posing deep concerns towards the environment, non-human animals and our health. 

Our oceans are already deeply effected by our plastic waste. the term ‘Garbage Island’ refers to huge floating islands of plastic debris, mainly consoisting mainly of fishing nets, plastic bottles and caps and plastic bags. Some of these garbage patches, such as the North Pacific one are the equivalent in size to France, Spain and Germany put together.

Manatees, whales, dolphins, sea lions and turtles are just some of the animals permanently at risk of dying from plastic in the sea. While it is difficult to document the exact amount, we know that over 1 million marine species and birds are killed each year (UNESCO) by plastic debris in the sea, however it is important to take into account that for every dolphin discovered to have died due to plastic, another 50 are estimated to have gone unnoticed. 

–eg–The majority of plastic we use is Polyethylene. This is  used to make most plastic bags, bottles and containers etc. Polyethylene is a petroleum derived polymer that micro organisms don’t recognise as food- therefore it is impossible for this plastic to ‘bio-degrade’. Instead, over time it breaks down into micro plastics. There may now be around 5.25 trillion macro and microplastic pieces floating in the open ocean, weighing up to 269,000 tonnes. Scientists have recently discovered microplastics embedded deep in the Arctic ice. –eg–

Accordion Content

Looking at...

Data from https://ourworldindata.org

An exploration of the use of data visualisation to understand global challenges.

Global plastics production (million tonnes)

Data from https://ourworldindata.org

tTand processed (thousands of tonnes)

Data from https://www.epa.gov