500,000 tons of plastic waste enter the World Ocean annually, and most of the garbage has been floating on the surface for decades, scientists at Utrecht University found out.
To calculate the types of plastic and the time it was on the surface of the water, the researchers created a 3D computer model of the World Ocean.
The results of calculations published in the Nature Geoscience journal showed that by 2020, 3.2 million tons of plastic waste had accumulated in the world's oceans. About 70% floats on the surface and about 30% is at depth. At the same time, 95% of plastic floats on the surface and at shallow depths not for several years, as previously thought, but for several decades.
According to researchers, up to half a million tons of garbage gets into the World Ocean every year. Of this amount, 45% is accounted for by fishing waste, 39% is plastic from coastal regions, and another 13% enters the ocean from rivers.
According to scientists' calculations, even if the dumping of plastic is completely stopped in 2025, by 2050 the total mass of garbage will decrease by only 30%.
Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished
