Launching an unprecedented global campaign, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is urging everyone to eliminate the use of microplastics and stop the excessive, wasteful use of single-use plastic, to save the world's seas and oceans from irreversible damage before it's too late.
Erik Solheim, the Executive Director of UNEP, said in a news release announcing the campaign that as much as 51 trillion microplastic particles - 500 times more than stars in the galaxy - litter the seas.
Each year, more than eight million metric tonnes of plastic end up in oceans, wreaking havoc on marine wildlife, fisheries and tourism, and cost at least $8 billion in damage to marine ecosystems. According to estimates, by 2050, oceans will have more plastic than fish if present trends are not arrested.
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