Plastic pollution stems from various origins, and while some industries are taking measures to reduce their plastic consumption, there is currently no reliable method to predict the extent of marine plastic leakage from specific industries or countries, nor to identify potential leakage hotspots across the entire value chain.

This report introduces a comprehensive framework, a first of its kind, that enables the measurement of marine plastic leakage by adopting a life-cycle perspective. It also provides generic data that can be utilized to estimate marine plastic leakage for identified sources, such as plastic waste, textile fibers, tire dust, microbeads in cosmetics, and fishing nets.

By offering the Marine Plastic Footprint framework for assessing marine plastic leakage, this report aims to assist companies in establishing informed priorities for addressing plastic circularity and materiality. Forecasting metrics are essential for effectively reducing the flow of plastic into the environment, thus enabling the closure of the « plastic tap. »