Increasing amounts of litter end up in the world’s rivers and oceans, harming the health of ecosystems and animals. Human health is also at risk, as plastics often break down into smaller pieces – microplastics – that may subsequently end up in our food. Microplastics were even found in human blood!

A stock of 83 million tons of plastic waste is estimated to be already in the oceans. The recovery of this plastic materials is an arduous and costly task.