Research and science
The evidence that shows which solutions work and where to focus.
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Organization
5 Gyres Institute
Santa Monica, California, USA | Founded 2009
Science-led nonprofit that measured plastic in all five subtropical ocean gyres and uses that research to drive policy and corporate change.
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Research
A bacterium that degrades and assimilates poly(ethylene terephthalate)
Yoshida, S. et al. | Science | 2016
Discovery of Ideonella sakaiensis, a bacterium found at a bottle recycling site that feeds on PET. It launched the field of enzymatic recycling.
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Research
A growing plastic smog, now estimated to be over 170 trillion plastic particles afloat in the world’s oceans
Eriksen, M. et al. (5 Gyres Institute) | PLOS ONE | 2023
A 40-year time series showing a steep rise since 2005, and a call for binding global action rather than voluntary measures.
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Organization
Algalita Marine Research and Education
Long Beach, California, USA | Founded 1994
Founded by Captain Charles Moore, who brought the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to public attention; now focused on youth education.
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Research
An engineered PET depolymerase to break down and recycle plastic bottles
Tournier, V. et al. | Nature | 2020
An engineered enzyme depolymerized 90 percent of PET in about 10 hours, and the recovered building blocks were made into new bottles. The science behind Carbios.
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Organization
CIEL (Center for International Environmental Law)
Washington, DC and Geneva
Legal experts tracking the plastics treaty and the health impacts of plastic across its life cycle.
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Organization
Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Cowes, United Kingdom | Founded 2010
Leading circular economy think tank; its Global Commitment brings together companies and governments behind shared targets for plastic packaging.
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Technology
Enzymatic recycling of PET and polyester
Pilot to first commercial plants
Engineered enzymes break PET bottles, trays and polyester textiles back into their building blocks, which can be made into new plastic of virgin quality.
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Research
Evaluating scenarios toward zero plastic pollution
Lau, W. et al. (Pew Charitable Trusts and SYSTEMIQ) | Science | 2020
Modelled every major intervention together and found that combining reduction, substitution, better collection and recycling could cut plastic flows to the ocean by about 80 percent by 2040. The basis of the report “Breaking the Plastic Wave”.
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Research
Global Plastics Outlook
OECD | OECD Publishing | 2022
OECD projections of plastic use, waste and leakage by country and sector, with policy scenarios to 2060.
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Organization
IUCN
Gland, Switzerland
International Union for Conservation of Nature; runs plastic programmes with island and coastal states. EarthX is an IUCN member.
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Organization
Minderoo Foundation
Perth, Australia
Publishes the Plastic Waste Makers Index, which traces single-use plastic back to the companies that produce the polymer.
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Research
More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean
Meijer, L. et al. | Science Advances | 2021
Showed that plastic comes from many small and medium rivers, not just a handful of large ones, which shapes where interceptors and collection should go.
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Organization
Ocean Conservancy
Washington, DC, USA
Runs the International Coastal Cleanup, whose volunteer data on what washes up has shaped bans and product redesigns around the world.
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Organization
OECD Environment Directorate
Paris, France
Publishes the Global Plastics Outlook, the most cited economic projections of plastic use, waste and leakage to 2060.
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Research
Our World in Data: Plastic Pollution
Our World in Data | Our World in Data | Updated regularly
Free, regularly updated charts on plastic production, waste handling and ocean inputs by country. Good for presentations.
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Research
Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans: more than 5 trillion plastic pieces weighing over 250,000 tons afloat at sea
Eriksen, M. et al. (5 Gyres Institute) | PLOS ONE | 2014
The first global estimate of floating ocean plastic, built from 5 Gyres expedition data.
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Organization
Plastic Soup Foundation
Amsterdam, Netherlands | Founded 2011
Amsterdam advocacy group focused on microplastics, human health and education, and a reference partner for Rotary’s EndPlasticSoup.
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Research
Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
Jambeck, J. et al. | Science | 2015
First global estimate of plastic entering the ocean from land, and a clear case that better waste management in fast-growing economies is the biggest lever.
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Research
Plastic Waste Makers Index
Minderoo Foundation | Minderoo Foundation | 2021, updated 2023
Traces single-use plastic waste back to the companies producing the polymers and the banks financing them.
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Research
Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made
Geyer, R., Jambeck, J. and Law, K. L. | Science Advances | 2017
Counted all plastic made since 1950 and found only a small share has ever been recycled, making the case for design and reuse, not recycling alone.
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Technology
Pyrolysis and other chemical recycling
Mixed record
Heats mixed plastic without oxygen to make oils. Promoted as a fix for hard-to-recycle plastic, but its benefits are strongly debated.
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Organization
Tangaroa Blue Foundation
Runs the Australian Marine Debris Initiative, where volunteers log what they collect on beaches so the data can trace litter to its source and stop it there.
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Research
The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics
Ellen MacArthur Foundation and World Economic Forum | Ellen MacArthur Foundation | 2016
The report that put the circular economy for plastics on the business agenda, and led to the Global Commitment.
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Organization
The Ocean Cleanup
Rotterdam, Netherlands | Founded 2013
Develops river Interceptors to stop plastic before it reaches the sea and large ocean systems to remove plastic already floating in garbage patches.
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Research
Turning off the Tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy
UN Environment Programme | UNEP | 2023
UNEP’s roadmap: accelerate reuse, recycling and substitution, and it estimates plastic pollution could fall by 80 percent by 2040.
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Organization
UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
Nairobi, Kenya
Hosts the negotiations for a global plastics treaty and runs the Clean Seas campaign, which One Earth One Ocean has partnered with since 2018.