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Roman Lehner examines water
samples from the world's oceans.

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Because it's still unclear
just how much plastic winds up

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in the marine environment.

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With our research
we're specifically trying

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to analyze microplastic.

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We're trying to find out exact
figures to discover and demonstrate

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how big the problem is and
what its effects might be.

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Roman Lehner was out at sea himself
and collected these samples.

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Now he’s examining them in the lab.

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These here are samples
from the Mediterranean.

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You have your standard pieces 
of plastic, like this fragment

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that’s from some kind of packaging.

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But then there’s also a lot
of foil, from cigarette packs

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or potato chip bags, etc.

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And then there is everything that
comes from industrial fishing –

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like leftover bits of fishing line.

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The Mediterranean is really one
of the most – if not THE most –

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polluted seas when it
comes to microplastic.

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Roman Lehner travels the
world to conduct his research.

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He’s developing techniques
to measure microplastics

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and standardize these measurements.

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This Manta net captures
the smallest of plastic particles

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floating on the water’s surface.

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Plastic is swimming around in
all of the world’s oceans

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and the problem is only growing.

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It’s spreading through
all areas of marine life.

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Each year around 9 million
tonnes of plastic winds up in

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the world’s oceans.

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So every minute some 15,000 kilograms 
of plastic waste floods into the sea.

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That’s equivalent to
the weight of 10 cars – per minute.

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Yet few people realize that rivers,
lakes and soil are MORE polluted –

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with up to 23 times as
much plastic as in the sea.

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The numbers that have been
communicated, and continue to be

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communicated, are far too low.

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Soon, they’re going to explode to many 
times what they are now. For two reasons:

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First: We, on the research 
side, have gained

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deeper insight into
the matter, so we’re seeing more.

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We’re going to be paying 
more attention to microplastic,

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and how much of it there really is.

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That alone will make the figures
rise by 100, if not 1000 percent,

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compared to what we’ve been told.

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Plus all the litter pollution,
which just keeps growing.

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Roman Lehner sorts the collected
plastic according to its size.

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He and his team are focusing on
fragments less than 3 millimeters long,

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as there’s little data on such small pieces.

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We know that
our bodies absorb plastic.

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It’s also been
detected in human blood.

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But we still don’t know what
the exact effects of that are.

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That’s being investigated using
a variety of research methods.

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Lehner’s research shows:
Switzerland also has a problem with plastic.

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Microplastic has been 
found in all of its lakes

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and in the mountains, too.

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Lake Geneva’s water 
may look crystal clear,

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but microplastic isn’t always 
visible to the naked eye.

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Lake Geneva, where we are now,
has around the same proportion

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of microplastic as certain
hotspots in the Mediterranean.

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We’re finding really
large amounts of plastic.

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That’s not surprising, 
given that a lake is usually

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a closed system, or at least 
has little in-and outflow.

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So everything accumulates.

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Each year, Lake Geneva alone takes
in some 55 tonnes of plastic,

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mainly in the form of microparticles.

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It’s estimated that around 580 tonnes
have now accumulated in the lake.

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Transported by rivers, about
20 tonnes of microplastic

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from Switzerland enter 
the ocean every year.

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And contribute
to pollution worldwide.

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How can this problem be solved?

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The plastic problem 
is a global problem,

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that requires a variety 
of approaches.

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It’s not just about
finding one that will work.

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You need different options on
a variety of levels, so you can

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tackle the problem as a whole.