We made this video a couple of years ago and I think it's still the best summary of how ocean plastic pollution works. Key points: - <0.1% of plastic waste actually makes it to the ocean. Ocean plastic pollution is a leakage problem. - 1% of rivers contribute roughly 80% of plastic inflow. - Most of these rivers are in coastal cities in middle-income countries, where people now have enough wealth but no adequate waste collection infrastructure. - High-income countries barely contribute to the problem. OECD countries consume 1/3 of all plastic but are responsible for <0.5% of ocean inflow. If you live in a rich country and don’t litter, your contribution to the problem is basically 0. - Nearshore and offshore plastic pollution are very different. Nearshore plastic pollution mostly originates from rivers and is not very persistent; after leaving river mouths, plastic tends to drift around for weeks to months before washing up on a coastline. Plastic in the offshore gyres mostly originates from the fishing industry and is very persistent; it is trapped indefinitely because there are hardly any coastlines in these currents to ‘catch’ this waste. This is why our catch from our Interceptors and our ocean cleanup system looks totally different.