10 rivers 1 ocean
THE MISSION: NAVIGATE THE TEN MOST PLASTIC-POLLUTED RIVERS IN THE WORLD
AND CROSS THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH
After having rowed alone across two oceans, covering more than 33,000 kilometers, trekked on polar routes for 2,000 km, and run over all kinds of terrain for a total of 10,000 km, the time has come for Alex Bellini to undertake a new journey: 10 Rivers 1 Ocean. On a raft built by waste materials assembled on site for each leg of his journey, Alex will navigate the ten most plastic-polluted rivers on our planet to tell the story of the little-known trip that plastic makes: over 80% of the plastic polluting the oceans originates from rivers. He is supported by invaluable partners who want to act to help us change and protect our planet.
MILLIONS TONS
The quantity of plastic that enters the oceans every year
MILLIONS KM2
The size of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
THE MOST POLLUTED RIVERS
Responsible of the 90% of plastic polluting our oceans
Image depicting the world’s largest areas of plastic accumulation in the oceans
THE 10 MOST POLLUTED RIVERS
Export of plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea Christian Schmidt, Tobias Krauth and Stephan Wagner. Environmental Science & Technolgy 2017
It is not only plastic. Many rivers around the world are under enormous strain caused by human action. Eighty percent of the plastic in the oceans comes from only ten rivers, the most polluted rivers in the world. It is these rivers that Alex has decided to navigate, to see close up how life is lived around and in the rivers, the relationships people have with them, and their good and bad habits. He wants to see first hand, learn more, and understand what limits are impassable and what solutions are possible. He wants to help spark a new sense of responsibility in all of us and the desire to take action for a cause that affects us all.
