Nearly 26,000 Tonnes of Plastic Pollution Added into Oceans During the Pandemic

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Earth.Org- the leading environmental news and data platform published a new article outlining shocking statistics about plastic pollution in oceans. The mismanagement of plastics has made it one of the most threatening environmental problems, with millions of tonnes of plastic being dumped into oceans every year.

According to Earth.org, there has been an extensive surge in plastic consumption since the inception of the Covid-19 pandemic, mainly in the form of single-use surgical masks, PPE kits and sanitizer bottles. An estimated 8.4 million tonnes of plastic waste have been generated from 193 countries, 25,900 tonnes of which have entered into oceans, as per recent research.

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About 11 million metric tons of plastic waste and pollution is estimated to enter the world’s oceans every year. The plastic pollution is likely to grow to 29 million metric tons per year by 2040, should no action be taken to limit the rising plastic consumption. Research reports suggest that it is possible to reduce 80% of that pollution by cutting production of virgin plastics, improving waste collection systems and boosting investment in recyclable plastics.

Alarmingly, around 100,000 marine animals die every year by getting entangled in fishing litter.