Plastic waste on Pacific likely to double by 2030: survey

January 24, 2019

Tokyo--The amount of microscopic plastic waste floating on the surface of the Pacific Ocean is expected to increase about twofold by 2030 from the 2016 level and about fourfold by 2060, a survey by a team of Japanese institutions has shown.

Results of the survey were published on British science journal Nature Communications on Thursday.

This was the first survey in the world for predicting the amount of microplastics floating on oceans, according to the team, comprising researchers from such institutions as Kyushu University and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. Microplastic debris is feared to affect the ecosystem.

In 2016, the team collected seawater from areas in the Pacific stretching from the Antarctic to Tokyo and researched the amount of microplastics per cubic meter of seawater.

Then, the group predicted the amount of such waste all over the Pacific using its own survey outcomes and the results of a U.S. study conducted between 1972 and 2010.

The team estimated that the volume of microplastics will rise significantly around Japan, as well as in the central part of the northern Pacific, relatively close to Asia, which dumps a huge amount of plastic waste. The team also cited impacts from ocean currents.

The team also predicted that the amount of microplastic waste will exceed 1,000 milligrams per cubic meter of seawater in wide areas.

"The levels are serious enough to affect marine organisms," Kyushu University Prof. Atsuhiko Isobe said, calling for the compilation of a program to reduce plastic waste based on scientific knowledge. Jiji Press