It is all hopeless?

All jokes aside - plastic enters the sea through many ways - but did you know that 90% of plastic in the sea comes from just ten rivers?

Rivers are by far the worst culprits for plastic pollution, collecting rubbish as they flow through major cities.

The River Yangtze alone releases 1,469,000 tones of plastic into the sea each year - that’s the equivalent of 6,681,818 box sets of the Lord of the Rings entering the sea annually from just one river.

This has a huge impact on wildlife and has already caused the extinction of the Chinese Paddlefish, with many more species at risk.

Freshwater crabs are particularly at risk from plastics. Due to a sad quirk of evolution, their digestive system is perfectly built to maximise the negative impacts of plastic ingestion.

Stopping plastic pollution at the source is incredibly important as much more highly concentrated there.

Thankfully there is some hope on the horizon. @theoceancleanup newest invention ‘the Interceptor’ is one of several devices designed to use the natural flow of rivers to stop plastic pollution at the source.

This solar powered floating rubbish collector can clear 50,000kg of plastic per day. Which is good news for everyone!