New research has revealed that plastic pollution must be reduced by more than 5% every year to meet UN targets; however, even on reaching those targets microplastics will still persist in our oceans beyond 2100.

Plastics are circulating in all of the Earth’s oceans. Rather than biodegrade, they simply break down into tinier and tinier pieces, producing microplastics, which measure less than 5mm long.

According to US environmental advocacy group Ocean Conservancy, 11 million metric tons of plastics enter our oceans every year. This is in addition to the estimated 200 million metric tons that are already there.

Rather than washing up on beaches, some of the greatest concentrations of plastic are miles from land, such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It has an estimated surface area of 1.6 million km2 – an area twice the size of Texas.

The United Nations Environment Assembly is aiming to adopt a legally-binding resolution to completely eradicate the production of plastic pollution from...