Where Is My Missing Plastics

A significant amount of plastic is missing from the surface of the oceans and has accumulated on shorelines. In this visualisation the amount of missing plastics is shown to highlight the gap between the plastic waste entering the oceans and the estimated plastic floating on the surface of ocean.

Outcome

Process

↓

When I read an article about plastic pollution on ourworldindata.com, I came across an interesting phrase: "missing plastic problem".

With over 380 million tonnes of plastic produced annually, a significant amount finds its way into the oceans. Approximately 3% of global plastic waste enters the ocean, totaling around 8 million tonnes in 2010. However, the actual amount of plastic floating at sea is much lower, estimated at 250,000 tonnes.

This "missing plastic problem" may be due to slower breakdown and the accumulation of plastic along shorelines. A study by Lebreton, Egger, and Slat (2019) identified three surface domains: shoreline, coastal areas, and offshore, with most buoyant macroplastics stored near shorelines.

My aim is to help my audience realise the missing plastic on shorelines is related to themselves and they can make a difference by taking action to prevent the problem from getting worse.

↓