The most contaminated waters

♦ The Yangtze in China carries up to 1.5million tons of plastic into the sea each year. In contrast, the Thames puts 18 tons of plastic into the ocean.

♦ The Yangtze River mouth had higher plastic concentrations than any other sampled river with a reported 4,137 particles per cubic metre.

♦ In the most polluted Swiss lakes, Lake Geneva and Lake Maggiore, 220,000 items per cubic km were reported.

♦ Scientists found 191million microplastic items on the surface of the Rhine in Switzerland and Germany.