Oceanic plastic: Revised estimates on size and lifespan debris revealed

Oceanic plastic debris level is lower than previously estimated, although it’s potentially more long-lived, according to recent research findings. The study, disclosed on Tuesday in Manila, utilised models to estimate that pieces of plastic larger than 25 millimetres are accountable for over 95% of the debris that is afloat in the oceans.

A local fisherman at Tanjung Pasir Beach, Tangerang, readied his vessel for embarking on a fishing trip on Tuesday, next to a beach strewn with plastic waste. Although microscopic plastic particles are in large quantities in the ocean, their cumulative weight, being described as “microplastics” for being smaller than five millimetres, is relatively minimal.

Based on this underestimation, the study, published in the Nature Geoscience journal, indicates that the total volume of oceanic plastic is ‘considerably lower’ than earlier estimations. Oceanic plastic pollution had previously been at an alarming figure of over 25 million tonnes, with a quarter of a million tonnes simply floating on the water’s surface.

Nonetheless, this study implies that the amount of floating plastic debris in the oceans is much more, at nearly three million tonnes. As the floating plastic is of larger size, it could be advantageous for clean-up efforts reported Manila Times.

“Large, floating pieces on the surface are more manageable to clean up as opposed to microplastics,” Erik van Sebille from the Utrecht University in the Netherlands, co-author of the study, shared in an announcement.

The study’s conclusions draw on a three-dimensional model of the ocean. This comprehensive model was informed by a substantial quantity of observational data and data from ocean surface water, coastal regions, and the deep ocean, collated between 1980 and 2020.