tonnes of plastic that entered the ocean in 2010 (the classic figure)
The origin of ‘a garbage truck a minute’ (about 15 tonnes per minute). It describes 2010 and land-based sources only.
- Value
- 8M
- Unit
- tonnes
- Data year
- 2010
- Trend
- Not applicable
- Source name
- Jambeck et al. 2015, Science
- Source link
- doi.org/10.1126/science.1260352
- Confidence
- Evidence: Contested
- Caveat / scope
- Dated 2010 estimate (range 4.8–12.7 million tonnes), often misquoted as current. Always label the year; prefer Borrelle 2020 for a headline.
- Verified on
- 22 September 2026
Sources last verified 22 September 2026. Page updated 24 September 2026. How we check sources