Less plastic in the ocean and easier to clean up

Total global marine plastic mass for the year 2020. Significantly less plastic is estimated to be present in the global ocean than scientists previously thought. This new insight results from calculations with a computer model that includes a record number of measurements and observations of plastic in the ocean. Also, a relatively large proportion of the plastic in the ocean consists of large pieces that are easier to clean up. The study is part of Mikael Kaandorp 's doctoral research at Utrecht University and appeared in the scientific journal Nature Geoscience today. To date, the total amount of plastic in the ocean has been estimated at more than 25 million tons, of which a quarter of a million tons float on the ocean surface. The new study shows that the amount of plastic on the ocean surface is much higher, at about 2 million tons, but only one million tons is present in the deeper ocean (this excludes the amount of plastic on the bottom of the ocean).