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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 macroeconomic input-output model to simulate global marine plastic waste trends through 2050, tracking floating macroplastics and microplastics across shoreline, coastal, and offshore ocean domains. They used the model to assess the effort and economic costs required to achieve various plastic waste removal targets, analyzing how cost-sharing rules distribute impacts across producers and consumers.
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, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Plastic waste discharge to the global ocean constrained by seawater observations
Researchers used ocean plastic concentration data combined with multiple ocean circulation models to estimate that approximately 0.7 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year, though uncertainty spans nearly 1.5 orders of magnitude. The study emphasizes that improving emission inventories and ocean monitoring data are the highest priorities for reducing uncertainty in global plastic pollution estimates.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Forecasting global plastic production and microplastic emission using advanced optimised discrete grey model
Researchers used advanced mathematical models to forecast future global plastic production and microplastic emissions. Their projections suggest that both production and emissions will continue rising significantly in the coming decades if current trends hold. The study provides policymakers with quantitative predictions that could help guide strategies for reducing plastic pollution.
An Overview of the Current Trends in Marine Plastic Litter Management for a Sustainable Development
This review summarizes current knowledge about marine plastic litter, from its land-based origins to its distribution across ocean environments, and evaluates recovery and recycling strategies. Researchers found that while technologies for collecting and recycling marine plastics are advancing, significant economic and logistical barriers remain. The study emphasizes that a circular economy approach, combining prevention, collection, and material recovery, is essential for addressing ocean plastic pollution.
Plastic packaging flows in Europe: A hybrid input‐output approach
Researchers modeled plastic packaging material flows across the EU using a hybrid input-output approach, mapping supply chains by polymer type, packaging form, and application category to reveal that packaging represents a major fraction of plastic consumption with significant gaps in end-of-life recycling infrastructure.