It’s no secret that plastic pollution in the ocean is a huge problem. The most visible sign of this is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This accumulation of debris is at least twice the size of Texas and can be seen from space. But now scientists have developed a new way to measure ocean trash – and it turns out there’s more than meets the eye.
The groundbreaking study – recently published in the journal Science – reports that in 2010, approximately 10 to 28 billion pounds of plastic entered the ocean. This is far more plastic than had previously been measured floating in the ocean’s garbage patches. And this number is on pace to increase tenfold next decade.
The team of scientists led by University of Georgia environmental engineer Jenna Jambeck calculated how much plastic each of the world’s 192 coastal countries contributed to the ocean. The team used data on per-capita waste generation, the size of the coastal population, the percentage of waste that is plastic, and the percentage of plastic waste that is mismanaged.
The study concluded that the worst offender of plastic pollution is China, which contributed nearly 5 billion pounds in 2010. Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka round out the top five. The United States finished 20th.
Out of sight shouldn’t be out of mind. It’s time to get the global plastic pollution under control.
**********
.
Web Links
Eight Million Tons of Plastic Dumped in Ocean Every Year
There’s a Horrifying Amount of Plastic in the Ocean. This Chart Shows Who’s to Blame
Photo, posted September 29, 2012, courtesy of Trevor Leyenhorst via Flickr.
.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.