A recent article in The Telegraph Lifestyle, partly in reaction the the final episode of The Blue Planet II, broke down the state of global ocean plastic contamination into 5 truly shocking statistics that enforce fears of production, consumption and waste exponentially out of control. As one commentator pointed out, there is a huge problem with a lack of standardisation of plastic products which leads to complications in recycling processes. Weak or absent rules guiding the production and disposal of plastics globally channel the vast volume of subsequent waste directly into our land, rivers and seas, where it is rapidly poisoning everything.
To summarise and shock:
There are 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste on Earth
Plastic will outweigh fish by 2050
A nappy will be on Earth five times as long as the baby it helps
For every 100m of British beach, there are over 200 plastic or polystyrene items
We are selling 20,000 more bottles every second
The BBC Blue Planet II website has a huge amount of information on things we can do to contribute to the slowing down and reversal of ocean deterioration.