About the Plastic Pipeline

Ocean plastics is a global catastrophe. Currently, there are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic waste in the ocean, and at least 1 million tons of plastic enters the ocean every year. While we as consumers can do our part by tossing single-use plastics in the recycling bin, only 9 percent of plastic waste worldwide is recycled and much of the plastic life cycle occurs beyond our scope of control. We need to understand not only what happens that shapes plastic products from cradle to grave, but what can be done to stem the tide of plastic pollution.

Created by the Wilson Center's China Environment Forum and Serious Games Initiative, The Plastic Pipeline aims to raise public awareness on the plastic product lifecycle and policies that can be enacted to help stem the tide of pollution going into our oceans. Partially supported by the National Geographic Society and Luce Foundation.

Built off of Leading Research

The game builds off research from the Wilson Center, led by the China Environment Forum, exploring the leakage of plastic waste along the whole life cycle and examining impact of policies that are being implemented around the world to “plug” these leaks. Besides informing content in the game, our research is creating further resources in the forms of articles, briefs and webinars to help shed light on this issue.

Using the Power of Play

Games can make difficult concepts accessible and motivate a shift in perception. Our past games and game prototypes have tackled a range of concepts, from the federal budget to coastal resilience to disinformation. Games can have a wide impact, reaching as with our Fiscal Ship game near millions worldwide. They can also build a sense of empowerment and motivate people to learn—and do—more.