Marine Pollution

A study conducted by OceansAsia estimates that 1.56 billion of around 52 billion manufactured face masks in 2020 will have entered oceans this year, resulting in an additional 4,680 to 6,240 metric tonnes of marine plastic pollution.

“The 1.56 billion face masks that will likely enter our oceans in 2020 are just the tip of the iceberg,” says Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff, Director of Research for OceansAsia, and lead author of the report. “The 4,680 to 6,240 metric tonnes of face masks are just a small fraction of the estimated 8 to 12 million metric tonnes of plastic that enter our oceans each year.”

A team of researchers found the highest levels of microplastics ever recorded on the seafloor with up to 1.9 million particles per square meter.

Each year over 10 million tons of plastic waste finds its way into the oceans, though only 1% is found in shallower waters while 99% is thought to occur in the deep oceans, where microplastics and plastic fragments get transported by deep-sea currents where they are concentrated in 'microplastic hotspots'.