Eight Million Tons a Year

Every year, roughly 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean — the equivalent of a garbage truck dumping its full load into the sea every minute. Most of it does not arrive through dramatic dumping. It travels in on rivers, storm drains, and wind, starting out as litter, mismanaged waste, and industrial spillage.

Once in the ocean, plastic does not biodegrade. It photodegrades — sunlight and wave action break it into smaller and smaller fragments called microplastics, the pieces under 5 millimeters across. They never disappear; they just keep splitting into particles too small to see.