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Ecology
How businesses can help support the Great Ocean Clean-Up
In the first decade of this century, more plastic was produced than in the entire 20th Century and every year millions oftonsofitendupinour oceans, Tony Alan reports
Covering over 70% of our planet, oceans are among the earth’s most valuable natural resources and home to thousands of species of marine life. They govern the weather, clean the air, and help to feed the world.
Yet shockingly, at least eight million metric tons of plastic ends up in our oceans each year. At current rates plastic is expected to outweigh all the fish in the sea by 2050.
A global tragedy
Whilst some of the plastic is dumped directly into the seas, an estimated 80% comes from land-based sources, including those far inland. A recent report from The Ocean Cleanup, a non- profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, found that 1000 rivers worldwide emit nearly 80% of plastic pollution into the world’s oceans. Because of this every year thousands of animals die
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