A new study, led by the University of Plymouth, has revealed the dominant items of marine litter across seven continents, nine ocean systems, 13 regional seas and 112 nations, representing 86% of the global population.
Experts brought together and evaluated more than 5,000 beach litter surveys, to generate the world's first overview of marine litter by usage type.
Their analysis shows that food and beverage related plastics dominate shoreline debris globally, with them ranking among the top three most abundant usage types in 93% of countries, including the UK and the world's top five most populated nations - India, China, the USA, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
Specifically, plastic food packaging, caps/lids, and plastic bottles were among the top-ranked individual items in more than half of all nations. And they are followed by plastic bags and cigarette butts as the next most prevalent items.
An estimated 20 million tonnes of plastic waste enters the environment each year.
[STAFFMEMBER]
Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS - P
"> Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS, founder and head of the University of Plymouth's [ARTICLE]
International Marine Litter Research Unit - P
"> International Marine Litter Research Unit, co-authored the report with academics from Indonesia and the UK, including Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, Dr Max Kelly.
They say it is now clear that waste management alone is unable to address the challenge of plastic pollution, and urgent measures are needed to reduce the quantities of plastics produced. Those measures could, for example, include ensuring that only plastics which bring essential benefit to society are produced.
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