That report released Thursday ranks countries that generate the most plastic debris into the oceans, with Asian nations taking 13 out of the top 20 spots.
Using World Bank data on 192 coastal countries, researchers estimated that China, the most populous nation, has the most mismanaged plastic waste per year and also generates the most plastic debris that end up in the ocean at 28%.
Mismanaged waste means the material is littered or not properly disposed of– meaning there isn’t a formally managed waste management system.
“The study is not to point fingers at people, it wasn’t to focus on the countries,” said lead author Jenna Jambeck. “The purpose was to make a global estimate.” But the data set Jambeck and the seven co-authors used was only available on a country-by-country level.
–
Efforts to reduce plastic waste
While China topped the list in the report, the country has made some efforts to curb waste. In 2008, China banned free plastic bags and five years later, banned the import of poorly sorted recyclables from other countries including the U.S.
There are some successful models, said Woodring. For example, Taiwan places a surcharge on plastics sold on a company level and it pays for the sorting, capturing, cleaning and recycling.
However, some countries lack infrastructure for waste management and recycling.
