A new book has gathered a variety of information about plastic pollution, hoping to provoke more action to tackle this scourge.

Through 60 topics, the Plastic Soup Atlas of the World highlights this global environmental problem.

The first 30 topics of the encyclopedic Atlas discuss causes and consequences, and explain how the plastic soup got “put on the map”, while the second set  concern what should be done to get the plastic soup “off the map” again.

Michiel Roscam Abbing, who works at the Plastic Soup Foundation and is the author of the book said: “Different aspects of the plastic soup are placed in perspective, which is done by examining the issue through the lens of recent scientific insights, gripping photos, and infographics. Through embracing plastics, humans have invoked a particularly complicated and far-reaching environmental problem that has manifested itself differently everywhere. I hope that the Atlas encourages readers to think and act.”

The first copy of the Plastic Soup Atlas of the World was handed to Environment Commissioner Karmenu Vella during the two-day PolyTalk conference in Malta.

He received the book from Maria Westerbos, director and founder of the Plastic Soup Foundation.

Read: Why washing your clothes is poisoning the sea

“Maps are constantly being redrawn. That is normal. But with the Plastic Soup Atlas of the World, the idea is to redraw the map in a whole new way," he said.

"Congratulations to the Plastic Soup Foundation for outlining not just the causes and effects of plastic pollution in the ocean, but for proposing solutions. This echoes closely the work of the European Commission’s plastic strategy, which aims to reduce packaging, increase recycling and next month, to bring cutting-edge proposals to tackle the problem of single-use plastics. Together we can redraw the map and reduce the burden of plastic soup."