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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to How much are we responsible for removing ocean plastic pollution ?
ClearHow much are we responsible for removing ocean plastic pollution ?
Researchers developed an integrated system dynamics and input-output model to simulate global marine plastic waste trends through 2050, quantifying the economic effort required from producers and consumers to achieve plastic removal targets across shoreline, coastal, and offshore ocean domains.
A mass budget and box model of global plastics cycling, degradation and dispersal in the land-ocean-atmosphere system.
Researchers developed a global mass budget and box model tracking plastic cycling across terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric reservoirs from 1950 to 2015, incorporating historical production data, fragmentation, and transport dynamics for macroplastics, large microplastics, and small microplastics. The model estimated that the deep ocean (82 Tg) and shelf sediments (116 Tg) represent major plastic reservoirs, and that even maximum feasible reduction scenarios would result in approximately 4-fold increases in atmospheric and aquatic microplastic exposure by 2050 due to legacy plastics already in circulation.
A mass budget and box model of global plastics cycling, degradation and dispersal in the land-ocean-atmosphere system
Researchers built a global computer model tracking how 8,300 million metric tons of plastic produced since 1950 cycles through land, ocean, and atmosphere as it fragments into microplastics over time. Their modeling shows that even eliminating all new plastic releases from 2025 onward would still leave small microplastics cycling through the environment for millennia, because of the enormous stockpile of plastic waste already accumulated on land.
How much innovation is needed to protect the ocean from plastic contamination?
Researchers used a system dynamics model to simulate ocean plastic cleanup scenarios, finding that reducing ocean plastic debris 25% below 2010 levels by 2030 would require removing 135 million tons at a cost of up to €708 billion — far exceeding any single cleanup project — and that technological solutions alone cannot solve the problem without complementary policy interventions.
A mass budget and box model of global plastics cycling, fragmentation and dispersal in the land-ocean-atmosphere system
Researchers constructed a global mass budget and box model tracking plastic polymer flows from production through fragmentation into microplastics across land, ocean, and atmosphere. The model suggests ocean microplastic stocks are much larger than surface measurements indicate, and that atmospheric transport plays a significant role in redistribution of marine-derived microplastics.
Global environmental plastics dispersal under OECD policy scenarios towards 2060
Researchers modeled how global plastic pollution would spread through the environment under different policy scenarios developed by the OECD, looking ahead to 2060. They found that even with ambitious policy action, significant amounts of plastic will continue leaking into aquatic environments unless waste management improves dramatically worldwide. The study suggests that coordinated global policies targeting both plastic production and waste management are essential to curb environmental plastic pollution.
A mass budget and box model of global plastics cycling, degradation and dispersal in the land-ocean-atmosphere system
This study developed a mass budget and box model to trace the global cycling, degradation, and dispersal of plastics across environmental compartments over time, estimating how plastic accumulates in ocean surface waters, deep sea, beaches, and soils. The model predicted that most plastic entering the ocean ultimately settles in sediments rather than persisting at the surface.
Sources, sinks and transformations of plastics in our oceans: Review, management strategies and modelling
This review synthesizes knowledge on ocean plastic sources, sinks, and transformations, and develops a preliminary dynamic model of plastic mobilization in marine environments that can predict distribution trends over time.
Marine plastic pollution: A systematic review of management strategies through a macroscope approach
Researchers applied a systems-level framework to review 176 studies on marine plastic pollution management, finding that waste collection infrastructure and freshwater pathways are critically understudied and that no existing strategy — from beach cleanup to biomaterials — is scalable enough to meaningfully reverse the plastic crisis.
Global environmental plastic dispersal under OECD policy scenarios toward 2060
Using a global computer model, researchers simulated how plastic pollution will spread through land, ocean, and atmosphere under different policy scenarios through 2060. Even with strong policy action, microplastics already in the environment will continue to circulate for centuries because existing plastic slowly breaks into smaller pieces. The study estimated the total marine plastic pool at 263 million tons, showing that preventing new pollution is critical but will not quickly solve the microplastic problem already in our ecosystems.
Significant benefits from international cooperation over marine plastic pollution
Researchers modelled the benefits of international cooperation in addressing marine plastic pollution, finding that the interconnected nature of ocean systems means that unilateral national actions produce substantially smaller reductions in plastic accumulation than coordinated multinational agreements. The study quantified how sharing costs and strategies across nations could significantly improve outcomes for marine ecosystem protection and human well-being.
Reduction scenarios of plastic waste emission guided by the probability distribution model to avoid additional ocean plastic pollution by 2050s
Researchers developed a probability distribution model to predict future marine macroplastic and microplastic abundances under various waste emission scenarios. The study suggests that to achieve zero additional ocean plastic pollution by 2050, global plastic waste emissions would need to be reduced by at least 32% relative to 2019 levels by around 2035, requiring stringent systemic changes in waste management.
Modeling the Global Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans
Students built a mathematical model to estimate global plastic waste generation and ocean runoff from 1980 to 2015 using publicly available data. The model forecasts continued growth in ocean plastic accumulation, underscoring the need for systemic changes in plastic production and waste management to prevent further marine contamination.
Planetary Coupling Geometry: Five Computational Tasks for Earth-Scale Geometric Coupling Analysis
Researchers applied a Geometric Coupling Theory framework to five planetary-scale computational tasks including an orbital microplastic collection fleet, estimating that 100 platforms would achieve only 1% ocean surface microplastic removal over 244 years, underscoring the scale mismatch between current technological capacity and the scope of plastic pollution.
Planetary Coupling Geometry: Five Computational Tasks for Earth-Scale Geometric Coupling Analysis
Researchers applied a Geometric Coupling Theory framework to five planetary-scale computational tasks including an orbital microplastic collection fleet, estimating that 100 platforms would achieve only 1% ocean surface microplastic removal over 244 years, underscoring the scale mismatch between current technological capacity and the scope of plastic pollution.
Modelling the cleanup of the North Pacific Garbage Patch based on 3 years of operational experience
Researchers modeled a 10-year ocean plastic cleanup effort in the North Pacific Garbage Patch using data from 72 actual collection operations that removed over 372 metric tons between 2021 and 2024, projecting that an optimized fleet of U-shaped net systems could eliminate more than 80% of surface plastics larger than 1.5 cm at a cost of approximately €1.8 billion.
The fate of missing ocean plastics: Are they just a marine environmental problem?
Researchers estimated a global ocean plastic mass budget to address the paradox of missing ocean plastics, finding that processes like fragmentation, sedimentation, and beaching account for much of the imbalance between plastic inputs and observed floating debris.
Evaluating the environmental impact of cleaning the North Pacific Garbage Patch
Researchers developed a novel plastic pollution impact assessment framework and applied it to evaluate whether cleanup operations targeting the North Pacific Garbage Patch could deliver a net environmental benefit, finding that removing legacy plastic pollution from the subtropical gyre may benefit marine life and carbon cycling when assessed against the environmental costs of the cleanup itself.
Evaluating scenarios toward zero plastic pollution
Researchers modeled five different intervention scenarios for reducing global plastic pollution between 2016 and 2040 and found that even implementing all feasible solutions would only cut pollution rates by 40% compared to 2016 levels. Under a business-as-usual scenario, 710 million metric tons of plastic waste would still accumulate in ecosystems even with immediate action. The study makes clear that coordinated global efforts across consumption reduction, recycling, waste collection, and innovation are urgently needed.
All is not lost: deriving a top-down mass budget of plastic at sea
Using a top-down mass budget approach, this study estimated how much plastic is present in the ocean by accounting for known inputs and fragmentation processes. The analysis helps identify where plastic mass is "missing" — whether through burial, beaching, or degradation — a key question for understanding the long-term fate of ocean plastic pollution.
Sustainable Plastic Waste Management Using a System Dynamics Approach
This study used system dynamics modeling to analyze municipal solid plastic waste management, simulating how different policy interventions affect waste generation, recycling, and environmental leakage over time. Understanding the dynamics of plastic waste systems helps identify the most effective points for intervention to reduce microplastic pollution.
Mapping of global plastic value chain and plastic losses to the environment: with a particular focus on marine environment
This report maps the global plastic value chain from production through use to waste management, estimating that millions of tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year, with significant regional variation in management capacity. The analysis provides the economic and waste management context needed to understand why plastic pollution — and the resulting microplastic problem — continues to grow globally.
Modelling the Uptake and Exchange of Microplastics in Marine Ecosystems using a Novel, Integrated System of High-Resolution Numerical Models
Researchers developed an integrated high-resolution numerical model to simulate how microplastics are taken up and exchanged among organisms in marine ecosystems. The model couples physical ocean circulation with biological uptake, egestion, and transfer through the food web. Such models help predict how microplastics from different sources distribute throughout marine food chains and ultimately reach fish and other seafood consumed by humans.
The Plastic Pathfinder: A Macroplastic Transport and Fate Model for Terrestrial Environments
Researchers introduced the Plastic Pathfinder, a computer model that simulates how plastic waste moves across land through wind, rain, and river systems before reaching the ocean. The model helps identify key transport pathways and accumulation hotspots, which is critical information for targeting plastic pollution interventions.