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Globally, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastics enter the ocean every year. This is roughly equivalent to dumping a garbage truck full of plastic into the oceans every minute. Estimations on how much plastic reaches the oceans in the European Union generally vary. A rough estimation says around 8 million metric tons globally, meaning somewhere in the rage of 150.000 tons per year.

While plastic litter swimming on the surface, for example in the so called “great garbage patches”, is the most noticeable proof for plastic pollution of the oceans, about 94% of plastics already in the oceans are found on the seafloor.

Even though plastics sometimes are only used for a few moments, they are made to last forever. Plastic never goes away, instead it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. So, although plastic doesn’t degrade, it does break down into microplastics, which can be as small as a millimeter in diameter and act like magnets for harmful pollutants. Some microplastics are so small that zooplankton at the base of the ocean food chain can consume them. That way, the potentially chemical-laden microplastics can accumulate in the bodies of ever-larger predators, making their way into the fish and seafood humans eat. Scientists are still studying how we might be affected by the plastics that are making their way into our food, water and air.

The most durable plastic items, such as bottles, disposable nappies and beer holders, can take 450 years to degrade. Other commonplace items such as straws can take up to 200 years to degrade and foam plastic cups can take 50 years.

However, it is worth noting that in the deepest parts of the ocean, plastic can last up to thousand of years due to the absence of sunlight, lesser oxidation and lack of other drivers of plastic degradation.

Plastic debris has been found floating on the sea surface, washing up on the most remote coastlines, melting out of Arctic sea ice, and sitting at the deepest point of the ocean floor. It’s everywhere.

As plastics continue to flood into our oceans, the list of marine species affected by plastic debris expands. Tens of thousands of individual marine organisms have been observed suffering from entanglement or ingestion of plastics permeating the marine environment—from zooplankton and fish, to sea turtles, marine mammals and seabirds- experts predict that 99% of seabird species will have ingested plastic by 2050, the result of which can be death.

When eaten by fish, some of the chemical-laden microplastics can work their way up the food chain and into the fish we eat. The impacts and consequences of plastic pollution are currently not well understood.

One of the most popular solutions to plastic pollution, which is recycling, simply isn’t enough. Only 9% of all the plastic waste ever generated has been recycled.

Current forecasts show that the expected strong increase in plastic production over the next years will overtake recycling by far, the consequence being more plastic in the ocean.

Recycling alone is not enough to solve the plastics emergency. To stop plastic from entering our oceans, we need to reduce the amount of plastic being produced. We must demand that companies reduce the amount of plastic they are putting into the supply chain and find other ways to package and deliver their products. Without immediate changes to the way we use and abuse plastics, the total amount of plastic waste created is expected to double by 2025.

So-called greener plastics that breakdown in the environment have been marketed as a sustainable alternative that could reduce the vast amount of plastic waste, however according to the UN Environment Programme, some of the biodegradable additives in plastic that would allow it to break down make it harder to recycle, and can be potentially harmful in the natural environment.