How The Ocean Cleanup Mapped the World's Rivers | Research | The Ocean Cleanup

To solve a problem, we must first understand it well. Here’s how researchers at The Ocean Cleanup mapped the world’s most polluting rivers to work towards effectively reducing oceanic plastic pollution. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to stay updated: https://bit.ly/371k8sN

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To substantially decrease riverine plastic emissions into the ocean, in how many rivers do we need to implement mitigation measures, where are these rivers located, and what are the characteristics of these rivers? For the last three years, researchers at The Ocean Cleanup have been working on answering these questions to effectively reduce oceanic plastic pollution.

Our study, published in Science Advances, estimates that 1000 rivers account for nearly 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean, made up of a high number of small and medium-sized rivers. While this number is much greater than previous estimations (100 times), it is only 1% of rivers worldwide, which means solving the problem is feasible.

By collectively taking a global approach with various technologies to target these most polluting rivers, we can drastically reduce the influx of plastic into the ocean.

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