Alarm as plastic pollution of oceans reaches unprecedented levels

Ocean plastic pollution is a global problem. Sea animals may be choked by or become entangled in larger pieces of plastic like fishing nets. Others ingest microplastics that eventually enter the food chain to be consumed by humans.

Research published on Wednesday estimates that there are an 170 thousand billion pieces of plastic, mainly microplastics, on the surface of the world's oceans today, much of it discarded since 2005.

"Plastic pollution in the world's oceans during the past 15 years has reached unprecedented levels," said the study, published in open-access journal PLOS One.

The estimates are higher than in previous research. The study found that the rate of plastic entering the oceans could accelerate several-fold in the coming decades if left unchecked.

Researchers took plastic samples from over 11,000 stations around the world, focusing on a 40-year period between 1979 and 2019.

They found no trends until 1990, then a fluctuation in trends between 1990 and 2005. After that, the amount of plastic skyrocket.

"We see a really rapid increase since 2005 because there is a rapid increase in production and also a limited number of policies that are controlling the release of plastic into the ocean," contributing author Lisa Erdle told the AFP news agency.

On current trends, plastic use will nearly double from 2019 across G20 countries by 2050, reaching 451 million tonnes each year, according to the report, jointly produced by Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation.

In 1950, only two million tonnes of plastic were produced worldwide.

Recycling, even in countries with advanced waste management systems, has done little to ease the pollution problem since just a small percentage of plastics are properly recycled.

Need for a new strategy   

With so much plastic being produced today, the study's authors said a new, wide-ranging treaty is needed to not only reduce plastic production and use but also better manage its disposal.

"Environmental recovery of plastic has limited merit, so solution strategies must address those systems that restrict emissions of plastic pollution in the first place," the study said.

Last year, 175 nations agreed to end plastic pollution under a legally binding United Nations agreement that could be finalised as soon as next year.

Among the key actions under negotiation are a global ban on single-use plastics, a "polluter pays" scheme, and a tax on new plastic production.

The total weight of the plastic pollution detected in the oceans today is estimated at 2.3 million tonnes, the PLOS study said.