Marine Litter Facts

100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die every year from ingestion and/or entanglement with marine litter. 

A plastic bottle can take over 450 years to degrade.

Over 50% of all marine litter is plastic

15% of marine litter is on the beach, 15% on the surface of the sea and the remaining 70% on the seabed just waiting for a big storm to bring onto our beaches.

It is estimated that 2 billion sanitary items are flushed down the toilet every year in the UK.

Studies show there are over 2000 items of litter for every 1km of UK coastline, that’s 1 bit of litter for every 50cm of beach surveyed! 

Over 35% of all the marine litter on the beach is left by beach users!

Over 170 different marine species have been found with plastics in their stomachs.

Estimates for cleaning up beaches around the UK range between £14 million and £157 million annually!