[     News listing ](/en/news "  News listing")

 02 Jan. 2019 



 

 

 

   ![The challenge of plastics in the oceans ](/sites/g/files/dvc2551/files/styles/crop_freeform/public/image/2018/12/The_challenge_of_plastics_in_the_oceans_-_Veolia_Institute-1_1_0.png.webp?h=51af2ba5&itok=1aLLc_Qe "The challenge of plastics in the oceans ")   



**The ocean is an essential common good** at the core of our global system : 50% of our oxygen is produced by the ocean, and it absorbs 1/3 of the CO2 produced on land.

**However, oceans are in great danger** : an estimated 8 millions tons of plastics leak annually into the oceans, where they take hundreds of years to break down.

At its annual meeting, **the Foresight Committee of the Veolia Institute**, composed of high-level international experts, a**ddressed the challenges of plastics in the oceans** with a multidisciplinary and international panel.

The main message : the plastic “bleeding” must be stopped on land. **We need to reduce such waste and move from our throwaway society towards a circular economy.**

> >> [Discover the highlights of this meeting.](https://www.institut.veolia.org/sites/g/files/dvc2551/files/document/2018/12/The_challenge_of_plastics_in_the_oceans_-_Veolia_Institute.pdf)