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In a report published in Marine Pollution Bulletin, researchers from Kyushu University have for the first time, provided a clear numerical target for global efforts to tackle marine plastic pollution. By mapping the flow and fate of plastic waste in the oceans, the team found that at a minimum there must be a 32% reduction in plastic littering by 2035 to prevent further marine damage.

Marine plastic pollution has been a growing issue for the world, and unless considerable interventions are taken, the situation will only get worse. For several years, Professor Atsuhiko Isobe from Kyushu University's Research Institute for Applied Mechanics has been working to monitor and track plastic pollution in the ocean.

In 2022, his research team reported that an estimated 25.3 million metric tons of plastic waste has entered our oceans, and nearly two-thirds of that cannot be monitored.

"My research focuses on tracking where plastic waste goes after being released into water sources such as rivers and oceans. We use computer models to track how plastics move and break down over time," explains Chisa Higuchi, first author of the study and Post‐doctoral Fellow in Isobe's lab.

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