Plastic waste causes financial damage of US$13 billion to marine ecosystems each year

Concern is growing over the threat that widespread plastic waste poses to marine life, with conservative estimates of the overall financial damage of plastics to marine ecosystems standing at US$13 billion each year, according to two reports released on the opening day of the first United Nations Environment Assembly.
The eleventh (2014) edition of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Year Book looks at ten issues flagged as emerging by previous reports over the past decade, including plastic waste in the ocean. Valuing Plastic makes the business case for managing and disclosing plastic use in the consumer goods industry (News Item UNEP, 23 June 2014).
Click here for the news item.
Click here for the UNEP Year Book.
Click here for the report ‘Valuing Plastic’ (4.93 MB).

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