The Environment Secretary has asked the Department for International Development (DFID) to consider increasing the proportion of the £13bn annual aid budget that is currently spent on the problem, The Times reported.
:: Fishing for plastic to build litter-picking boats
Meanwhile, a study by the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany, has found 90% of plastic waste entering the oceans comes from just 10 rivers.
Two of them, the Nile and the Niger, are in Africa, while the other eight are in Asia: the Indus, Ganges, Amur, Mekong, Pearl, Haihe, Yellow and Yangtze.
:: Plastic in sea could be worse than first feared
A spokesperson from Mr Gove's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told Sky News: "We are taking significant steps to tackle plastic waste including plans to introduce a ban on plastic microbeads, taking nine billion plastic bags out of circulation with our carrier bag charge and have established a working group to consider further practical ways in which we can deal with the worst kinds of litter including plastic bottles.
"We recognise there is more to do in this area and are keen to explore ways in which we can reduce the amount of plastics in our oceans."
:: Sky has been running a campaign to make people more aware of the effect plastic has on the world's oceans and to share ways of tackling the problem. To get involved in Sky Ocean Rescue, visit the campaign website here. You can also watch our documentary, A Plastic Voyage.