The world produces around 460 million tonnes of plastic each year, and 350 million tonnes of it becomes waste. For this waste to enter the ocean, it needs to be dumped in a way that means it’s not contained. When plastic is put into sealed landfills, it’s unlikely to escape. It also needs to be fairly close to the coast to get carried out to the ocean from rivers. Our best estimate is that 1 million tonnes enters the ocean each year. That’s 0.3% of our plastic waste.
