plastic particles floating on the ocean surface
About 171 trillion particles, weighing roughly 2.3 million tonnes, were afloat in 2019; the number has risen sharply since 2005.
- Value
- 171 trillion
- Unit
- particles
- Data year
- 2019
- Trend
- Rising
- Source name
- Eriksen et al. 2023, PLOS ONE
- Source link
- doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281596
- Confidence
- Evidence: High
- Caveat / scope
- Wide uncertainty range: 82–358 trillion.
- Verified on
- 22 September 2026
Sources last verified 22 September 2026. Page updated 22 September 2026. How we check sources