In 2023 scientists estimated that more than 171 trillion pieces of plastic were floating in the world’s oceans, increasing exponentially from 16 trillion pieces in 2005, comprised of both recently discarded plastics and older pieces that have broken down.

That year, nations also signed the historic UN High Seas treaty aiming to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030. While this is a major step for systemic action, there’t still a lot that people can look at as individuals too. 80% of marine litter comes from land-based sources finding its way into streams, rivers or drains and ending up in the ocean, where it causes problems for ecosystems, sea life and, ultimately, human health.

So what is making up a lot of this pollution, and what can we do?

Sources of ocean pollution

The 2022 global plastics outlook estimated that humans produce over 400 million metric tons of plastic annually. Disposal systems differ around the world, but around 9% is recycled, and 22% of global plastic waste is either not collected, improperly disposed of, or ends up as litter. A smaller part of this ends up entering waterways, leading to an estimated 0.5% in oceans. But 0.5% of 400 million is a whole lot; over 1 million metric tons is a major global pollution problem.

Most plastic emissions are said come from middle-income countries, where plastic usage is growing, but waste management systems aren’t as efficient and struggle to deal with increased consumption.

A lot of plastic also makes its way into oceans via rivers. During storms and other heavy rain events, plastic emissions can increase as much as tenfold, as it washes into waterways. The closer the plastic is to a river, and the closer that river is to the ocean, the greater the chances that the plastic will reach the ocean.

Coastal cities in middle-income countries are currently the world’s plastic emissions hotspots, with a 2021 study from The Ocean Cleanup identifying 1000 global rivers representing almost 80% of ocean plastic emissions.

UK data

The forms of pollution in waterways vary across the world. As someone based in the Global North, let’s look at data from this part of the world and what action can be taken.

2023 Beachwatch data from the Marine Conservation Society shows thousands of single-use plastic items found on UK beaches each year. Data was collected from 14,271 volunteers removing litter from 92 miles of local beaches and submitting over 1000 litter surveys. In these cleans, they cleared 17,208 kgs of litter while providing vital data.

The surveys found a gargantuan 480,343 litter items were removed from beaches, and on average there were 167 litter items found per 100m of beach. In 2023 over 29,500 sewage-related items were also recorded, including wet wipes, cotton bud sticks and sanitary products that were flushed down the toilet instead of going in the bin. 72% of beaches surveyed in 2023 found sewage-related items, including over 21,000 wet wipes.

The most commonly found plastic pollution

Single-use plastic items are among the items most commonly found on beaches and represent an estimated 50% of marine litter. Plus the 2019 Plastic Rivers report analysed data from nine studies of freshwater sources across the UK and Europe, ranking types of consumer plastic by prevalence (excluding items relating to fishing, agriculture and industry, which require different kinds of regulation to tackle).

In rivers and lakes they found these items were the top 10:

    1. Plastic bottles and lids
    2. Food wrappers (crisp packets and sweet wrappers)
    3. Cigarette butts
    4. Sanitary items (nappies, sanitary towels, tampons and wet wipes)
    5. Plastic or polystyrene takeaway containers
    6. Cotton bud sticks
    7. Plastic or polystyrene cups
    8. Smoking-related packaging
    9. Plastic straws, stirrers and cutlery
    10. Plastic bags

With up to 80% of the plastic in our seas coming from rivers, this study was key to understanding the situation in freshwater environments as well as ocean data. So here’s what to do about these top offenders.

Cigarette butts & smoking packaging

Cigarette butts are long-lasting and toxic, often reaching waterways through improper disposal on land, before being transported by runoff and storms. Most cigarette filters are made out of cellulose acetate, a plastic-like material that’s easy to manufacture, but difficult to degrade. The fibres in cigarette filters may break into smaller pieces, but they don’t disappear.

What to do with cigarette waste:

  • If you smoke, don’t throw your butt away. Place it in a proper receptacle.
  • Get a pocket ashtray for when you’re on the go. These trays can be metal boxes or vinyl pouches that easily fit in your pocket or bag, and extinguish cigarettes until they can be properly disposed of later.
  • Depending on your location, some people do have access to recycling. TerraCycle’s cigarette waste programme takes extinguished cigarettes, filters, loose tobacco pouches, rolling paper, and outer plastic and inner foil packaging. Do some research to see what might be available to you.

The Marine Conservation Society also added vapes to their inland litter-picking form in 2023. A staggering 940 vapes were found in total across 42% of inland litter picks. A recently announced ban on disposable vapes will now be coming into place across the UK, which will hopefully see these numbers decrease rapidly thanks to the tireless work of UK campaigners.

Sewage-related debris

Items incorrectly flushed down the toilet are called sewage-related debris. They can enter waterways when sewers overflow due to storms, heavy rain or insufficient capacity in the sewage network. 

Particularly problematic items include sanitary products and wet wipes, which contain plastics, and cotton bud sticks. For many of these items, alternatives exist including:

The Marine Conservation Society also call for:

  • Banning all avoidable single-use plastic in wet wipes and other sanitary items, such as tampon applicators (where alternatives exist).
  • Applying Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to all sanitary products (not just those that contain plastic) and clean-up costs.
  • Making the water industry’s ‘Fine to Flush’ specification a legal requirement for flushable wet wipes.
  • Improved labelling and consumer awareness to promote correct disposal.

In October 2023, the UK Government also announced a consultation to ban plastic in wet wipes, so there are hopes for increased policy and legislation in these areas.

Glass bottles, plastic bottles and metal drink cans

In 2023, drinks-related litter increased by 14% compared to 2022. Some of the obvious individual actions here include taking a reusable bottle with you on the go and being confident to ask for refills (there are also apps to help you find free water refills near you), and holding on to packaging when you do buy a drink to make sure it’s properly disposed of in recycling bins when you reach one.

More importantly, this also highlights the need to urgently introduce effective Deposit Return Schemes, with very positive results coming from the first trial across an entire town in Wales.

Styrofoam takeaway containers and cups, plastic straws, stirrers and cutlery, plastic bags

This is a broad category because action is being taken in these areas in the UK. Polystyrene packaging and cups, plastic cutlery, straws and stirrers have now been banned in the UK (straws are still available for those who need them, they’re just not outwardly advertised), with plastic bag use down by 98% since a 5p charge was introduced. Decreased bag pollution in waterways has already been noted, hopefully this will be followed by a drop in these forms of takeaway packaging too.

However if you want to be even more prepared you can also carry:

  • A reusable coffee cup for drinks on the go
  • A reusable bag or tote that can be unfolded for items you buy on the go
  • Reusable cutlery and straws if you may need them (I have a bamboo set and a reusable silicon straw, both gifts from friends!)

on the go with my reusable cup

Other work being done

Plastic pollution is a global problem that requires a global response, which is now starting to gain momentum. In September 2023 the UN High Seas Treaty was signed by 89 signatories including the EU, providing for the common governance of  95% of the ocean’s volume to tackle environmental degradation, prevent biodiversity loss and fight climate change. 

The new agreement contains 75 articles that aim at protecting, caring for, and ensuring the responsible use of the marine environment, maintaining the integrity of ocean ecosystems, and conserving the inherent value of marine biological diversity. 

(source)

The Marine Conservation Society is also clear that the UK needs to go further than the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive, including a ban on plastic wet wipes and cigarette filters, and correct labelling of products – including biodegradability and other ‘green claims’.

In the UK there have been major victories in tackling single-use plastics and the horrific marine pollution that comes with it, but there’s still more to do. I hope some of the tips above help, and remember you can always get involved in beach cleans, data gathering and advocacy for plastic-free towns wherever you live. These kinds of issues are clear demonstrations of the ways policy and individual action can work together for good, let’s hope it continues.