Plastic pollution in the world ’s oceans costs roughly between $ 500bn and $ 2.5tn annually , according to a study that set out to put a price on the damage done to the marine ecosystem . The paper , published in environmental Pollution Bulletin , also found that plastic waste can cost up to $ 33,000 per mt in reduced environmental impacts . The calculations , which are based on humanity ’s stock of plastic , estimated to be between 75 - 150 million mt , only cover the impacts on marine natural capital . The findings therefore represent a “ lower bound ” of the full economic impact of marine plastic , the authors noted .
Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans costs society between $500bn and $2.5tn annually, according to a study that set out to put a price on the damage caused to the marine ecosystem. The paper, published in Marine Pollution Bulletin, also found that plastic waste could cost up to $33,000 per mt in reduced environmental value. The calculations, which are based on 2011’s stock of plastic, estimated to be between 75-150 million mt, only cover the impacts on marine natural capital. The findings therefore represent a “lower bound” of the full economic costs of marine plastic, the authors noted.