Leakage

There is no universally agreed-upon definition of plastic leakage.For Ogyre, plastic leakage refers to plastic waste that ends up in end-of-life pathways classified as unacceptable (Class D) by the Waste Management Hierarchy developed by the Prevent Waste Alliance. These include open dumping, uncontrolled burning or incineration, and waste released into the environment, such as on land, in rivers, and in oceans.

The Plastic Footprint Network defines plastic leakage more specifically as the quantity of plastic that effectively escapes human control and its managed systems and enters the natural environment, including soil, waterways, oceans, and air.