350 million tonnes of plastic waste each year

Question

Around 0.5% of plastic waste ends up in the ocean. Most of it stays close to the shoreline.

Answer 1

False -- https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution#:~:text=The%20world%20produces%20around%20350,plastic%20enter%20the%20oceans%20annually.

"Plastic production has sharply increased over the last 70 years. In 1950, the world produced just two million tonnes. It now produces over 450 million tonnes."

Answer 2

This claim is true. The Our Wold in Data article indicates that of the 350 million tonnes of plastic waste produced each year, about 1.7 million tonnes (around 0.5%) of it ends up in oceans. 

This figure is also referenced in the International Fund for Animal Welfare journal: https://www.ifaw.org/journal/plastic-pollution-ocean

"Of the 82 million, an estimated 19 million tons are leaked to the environment in some way. About six million of this ends up in rivers and along coasts. Of the six million, it’s estimated that about 1.7 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean per year. This is 0.5% of all plastic waste."

Answer 3

This is actually false. The global amount of plastic waste is closer to 400 million tonnes. Statista stating it is at 360 Million and has grown more than seven-fold. Another source from the UNEP brings this number towards 400 million stating we produce around 400 million tonnes of waste each year.

https://www.statista.com/topics/5401/global-plastic-waste/#:~:text=Global%20plastic%20waste%20generation%20has,million%20metric%20tons%20per%20year.

https://www.unep.org/interactives/beat-plastic-pollution/

Answer 4

This claim is False. According to UN's environment program we produce about 400 million tonnes of plastic waste each year. https://www.unep.org/interactives/beat-plastic-pollution/ That figure is also cited by reputable outlet CNN: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2024/04/climate/plastic-pollution-ocean-cnnphotos/