What is ‘plastic soup’?
It’s not floating islands of plastic in the ocean, but rather a watery ‘bouillon’.
How does the plastic enter the ocean?
Plastic can end up in the ocean in all sorts of ways. It can be thrown directly into the ocean, or it can enter the ocean indirectly by being transported via rivers, wind, and waves.
Plastic diet
Plastic is increasingly found inside animals, and it can even be found inside our own excrement.
Animal suffering
Animals can get caught in six-pack rings. This form of plastic is already prohibited in the Netherlands, but is still allowed in other countries in Europe and abroad.
An ocean full of plastic
Less than 1% of the plastic in the ocean is floating on the surface. So where’s the other 99%?
How does a gyre work?
The currents in the ocean gyres transports and spreads floating pieces of plastic.
Plastic on our plate
Even we can consume microplastic, but what are the consequences?
Research into plastic soup
Scientists already know a lot about plastic soup, but there is still much more that we don’t know. Read all about the scientific research conducted at Utrecht University.
Causes of the plastic soup
We could cover the Netherlands 155x over with all of the plastic in the oceans.
What you can do!
Contribute to a plastic-free ocean.
Microplastic & microbeads
Microplastic makes up a large part of the plastic soup.
Why do we find Dutch plastic at the North Pole?
Ocean currents bring Dutch plastic to the North Pole, where it causes serious harm to everything that lives there.