Global amount of macro- and microplastics lost to the environment 2018
As of 2018, some 5.274 million metric tons of macroplastics were lost to the environment worldwide each year. A further 3.014 million metric tons of microplastics are lost to the environment every year. In total, 8.288 million metric tons of plastics, in large and small pieces, enters into the world's natural environment on an annual basis. This accounted for a two percent share of the plastics produced at that point in time.