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Reducing Marine Pollution

Marine Pollution - Links from Dr. Risa
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1.1 Articles
1.1.2 Jambeck J et al (2015) Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean, Science, 367, 768-771

Abstract

 

Plastic debris in the marine environment is widely documented, but the quantity of plastic entering the ocean from waste generated on land is unknown. By linking worldwide data on solid waste, population density, and economic status, we estimated the mass of land-based plastic waste entering the ocean. We calculate that 275 million metric tons (MT) of plastic waste was generated in 192 coastal countries in 2010, with 4.8 to 12.7 million MT entering the ocean. Population size and the quality of waste management systems largely determine which countries contribute the greatest mass of uncaptured waste available to become plastic marine debris. Without waste management infrastructure improvements, the cumulative quantity of plastic waste available to enter the ocean from land is predicted to increase by an order of magnitude by 2025.

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Description

 

The quantity of plastic entering the ocean from waste generated on land has been estimated in this study and it has been determined that population size and the quality of waste management systems are the prime determinants. The cumulative quantity of plastic waste available to enter the ocean from land is predicted to increase by an order of magnitude by 2025.

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