Plastics are indispensable in our daily lives and are used in a wide range of fields due to their durability and non-degradability. However, because of this resistance to decomposition in the natural environment, plastic waste that is released into the ocean is causing marine pollution. To solve this problem, we have been working on developing marine biodegradable plastics that contain starch. Based on a design that improves the decomposition of plastics using starch, we have collaborated with companies to create prototype cutlery and other items.

Observations of floating microplastics (MPs) in the Arctic Ocean have revealed the amount of MPs with a particle size of more than 0.3 mm in seawater. However, the amount of MPs stored in seawater, sea ice, and seafloor sediments, including those with particle sizes of less than 0.3 mm, the amount of MPs transported between them, and the amount of transport between the Arctic Ocean and the outside world through the atmosphere, rivers, and ocean currents is unknown. Quantifying these amounts using a common method among researchers is essential to understanding the marine plastic cycle.

Plastic waste leakage into the ocean and the environment has become a global issue, so in order to reduce plastic waste on a global scale, it is necessary to share scientific knowledge such as marine plastic litter distribution with countries around the world. In this article, we introduce the Atlas of Ocean Microplastic (AOMI), an international database on ocean surface microplastics that the Ministry of the Environment has developed and released to encourage data utilization, with the aim of promoting more effective plastic pollution countermeasures.

Approximately 80% of marine litter flows from land into the sea. Measures to prevent litter outflow are necessary throughout river basins, but there is a particular responsibility on the part of waterway managers for litter in waterways such as rivers and irrigation channels that run through urban areas, where the population is high and litter is generated in large quantities. The SDGs' target for significantly reducing marine pollution, including marine litter, is set for 2025, and this must be addressed immediately.