Study: World dumps 8.8 million tons of plastics into oceans
Study: World dumps 8.8 million tons of plastics into oceans
By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer | February 12, 2015 | Updated: February 12, 2015 3:16pm
SAN JOSE, California (AP) — Each year about 8.8 million tons of plastic ends up in the world oceans, a quantity much higher than previous estimates, according to a new study that tracked marine debris from its source.
That's the equivalent of five grocery bags full of plastic debris dotting each foot of coastline around the world, said study lead author Jenna Jambeck, an environment engineering professor at the University of Georgia.
And if the biggest polluters, mostly developing Asian countries, don't clean up how they throw stuff away, Jambeck projects that by 2025 the total accumulated plastic trash in the oceans will reach around 170 million tons. That's based on population trends and continued waste management disposal problems, although there may be some early signs of change, she said.
More than half of the plastic waste that flows into the oceans comes from just five countries: China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The only industrialized western country on the list of top 20 plastic polluters is the United States at No. 20. The U.S. and Europe are not mismanaging their collected waste, so the plastic trash coming from those countries is due to litter, researchers said.
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