Pathways and fluxes of plastics into the oceans

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Pathways and fluxes of plastics into the oceans

All material that erodes and washes off the land will end up in the marine environment. This includes solid materials that constitute marine litter. Understanding the role and importance of the different pathways is crucial to prioritizing efforts to reduce the amount of debris and microplastics reaching the ocean.

Year: 2018

From collection: Marine Litter Vital Graphics

Cartographer: Maphoto/Riccardo Pravettoni

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Graphics included in same album

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An example of how microplastics could end up on a consumer's plate

Are most of the plastics produced still around?

Global plastic production and future trends

How microplastics are generated

How much plastic is estimated to be in the oceans and where it may be

How much plastic waste is produced worldwide

How plastic moves from the economy to the environment

How plastics enter the food web

Marine plastic garbage clean up efforts

Marine plastics global policy timeline

Most common and visible litter items in beaches

Mostly plastic

Natural processes affecting the distribution and fate of plastics

Plastic bioaccumulation in the food web

Plastic currents

Plastic debris in the ocean: a multiplicity of sources and pathways

Plastic input from municipal solid waste and wastewater

Plastic input into the oceans

Plasticized animal species - Entangled

Plasticized animal species - Ingestion

Plastic waste produced and mismanaged

Preventing is better than cleaning up

Regional action plans on marine litter

Size does matter

The impact of plastic pollution on oceans is at least $8 bn per year

Thermohaline circulation

What countries are doing to combat litter

Which plastics float and which sink in seawater?

Publications it appears in

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Stop Talking Trash about Marine Litter

Debunking the Myths about Plastic Debris in our Ocean

03 Jun 2018 Web Solutions & Apps

Marine Litter Vital Graphics

We all contribute to this problem. Yes, all. And we need to act now if we want to avoid living in a sea of plastic by mid-century.

06 Jul 2016 Vital Graphics Series

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