Source: The Ocean Conservancy Year 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 % of Debris 1.16 .82 .66 .61 .36 .42 .48 .38 .34 .28 .33 .46 .40 .50

Note: In 1994 and 1995, 6-pack rings, as a percentage of total debris collected, increased to 0.42% and 0.48%. The explanation is straightforward. Total 6-pack rings found in the coastal cleanup declined by 2,900 in 1994 and by 3,825 in 1995 for a total of 6,725 (25.6%). However, since the total debris items collected over the same two year period declined by 3.27 million pieces (44.6%), 6-pack rings represented a slightly larger slice of a smaller pie.

Over the most recent 5 or 10 year periods, 6-pack rings consistently average 0.4% of total debris collected; or 4 rings per 1000 debris items found.