Overview
- The One Earth study, published Wednesday, May 27, 2026, pooled more than 350 studies and beach surveys from 112 countries covering about 86% of the world population.
- Researchers found that food and beverage packaging — notably bottles, caps and snack wrappers — ranks among the three most common items in beach litter in 93% of the countries studied.
- The analysis estimates roughly 20 million tonnes of plastic enter the environment each year and are carried from land to sea by rivers and ocean currents, which explains high shares of bottles and fishing gear in polar regions.
- The paper shows that targeted policies can reduce specific litter types and recommends source-level measures such as reuse systems, redesigned packaging, and levies or fees on single-use products, citing lower bag pollution in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique after bans.
- The study focused on larger, identifiable items and did not quantify microplastics, so authors say cutting production and use of key single-use items is needed to prevent breakdown into microplastics and to ease effects on coastal communities and wildlife.