Blue Seas: Freeing the Seas from Plastics
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FIGURE 4.3
Volume of Plastic Debris Entering the Seas from the Middle East and North Africa, by Economy, 2010 and 2025 0.5
Marine-plastic debris (megatons per year)
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
q Sa ou u t B di A ti an r k a abi nd a Ga za Ku w ai t Om Un an ite d Ba Ar h ra ab Em in ira te s M al ta Jo rd an Qa ta r
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Re p. ge ria M or oc Ye Ira me co n, n, R Isl am ep. ic Sy Re ria p. n T Ar un ab is Re ia pu bl ic Lib Le ya ba no n
0
2010
2025
Source: Based on Jambeck et al. 2015. Note: Figures for 2025 are projections.
Mediterranean-Polluting Countries The Mediterranean Sea is today one of the most plastic-polluted seas in the world. This semi-enclosed area, surrounded by three continents and with intense human activity, works as a trap for plastics. For this reason, the Mediterranean is considered one of the six greatest accumulation zones for marine litter, together with the five “plastic islands” floating in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans (Cózar et al. 2014). The Mediterranean holds 1 percent of the world’s waters but contains 7 percent of the world’s marine-debris microplastics and is hence recognized as a global hot spot for targeted action (Alessi and Di Carlo 2018).
