In the past decade, plastic pollution has become one of the most visible environmental issues worldwide. Every year, millions of tonnes of plastic enter the ocean, affecting marine life, coastal communities, and ecosystems.
This visualization, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, ranks the countries responsible for the highest cumulative leakage of mismanaged plastic waste that escaped and washed up on other countries’ beaches from 2010 to 2019.
The data for this visualization comes from the Global Plastic Hub.
Asia Leads in Ocean Plastic Leakage
China is the largest contributor, responsible for over 2.6 million tonnes of plastic waste that ended up on foreign beaches.
It’s followed by the Philippines (1.7 million tonnes), and India (966,000 tonnes).
Rapid economic growth, urbanization, and inadequate waste management systems contribute to these high figures.
Seven of the top 10 countries on the list are in Asia, underlining the region’s central role in the global ocean plastic crisis.
Rank
Country
Tonnes (2010-2019)
1
China
2,683,631
2
Philippines
1,695,260
3
India
966,447
4
Brazil
639,665
5
Indonesia
599,020
6
Nigeria
496,841
7
Viet Nam
484,457
8
Turkey
354,441
9
Thailand
338,685
10
Malaysia
332,756
11
Bangladesh
315,755
12
Venezuela
231,132
13
Bird Island
231,132
14
Myanmar
209,495
15
Egypt
208,321
16
Algeria
157,952
17
Tanzania
114,737
18
Ghana
107,907
19
Taiwan, Province of China
97,418
20
Uruguay
94,544
21
Tunisia
89,176
22
Haiti
84,238
23
Dominican Republic
83,121
24
Libya
73,477
25
Mozambique
72,578
26
Cameroon
67,709
27
Côte d’Ivoire
57,394
28
Pakistan
53,641
29
Angola
52,877
30
Colombia
47,506
31
Morocco
44,087
32
Sri Lanka
41,648
33
Peru
39,863
34
Papua New Guinea
36,165
35
Yemen
35,625
36
Trinidad and Tobago
35,244
37
Benin
32,298
38
Togo
31,773
39
Mexico
31,004
40
South Africa
30,352
41
Ecuador
29,678
42
Solomon Islands
27,939
43
Honduras
26,859
44
Greece
25,983
45
Ukraine
25,859
46
Guinea
25,167
47
Comoros
24,691
48
Sierra Leone
23,826
49
Hong Kong, China
23,471
50
Russian Federation
20,770
51
Senegal
19,569
52
Lebanon
19,420
53
Guatemala
19,015
54
Albania
18,501
55
U.S.
16,910
56
Panama
16,346
57
Jamaica
16,260
58
Belize
15,383
59
Guyana
15,235
60
Nicaragua
15,199
61
Liberia
14,220
62
Kuwait
12,740
63
Gambia
12,178
64
Suriname
11,589
65
Sudan
11,308
66
Guinea-Bissau
10,819
67
Iran
10,750
68
Congo
9,476
69
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
8,873
70
Kenya
7,941
71
El Salvador
7,504
72
Netherlands
6,488
73
UK
6,242
74
Timor-Leste
6,238
75
Italy
5,930
76
Spain
5,708
77
Canary Islands (Sp.)
5,708
78
Eritrea
5,677
79
Equatorial Guinea
5,328
80
Argentina
4,847
81
Costa Rica
4,384
82
Saudi Arabia
4,099
83
Croatia
3,964
84
Djibouti
3,401
85
Japan
3,208
86
Syrian Arab Republic
3,019
87
Australia
2,920
88
Ashmore & Cartier Is.
2,920
89
Republic of Korea
2,865
90
Mauritania
2,845
91
United Arab Emirates
2,659
92
Somalia
2,371
93
Israel
2,368
94
Fiji
2,340
95
Cambodia
2,212
96
Gabon
2,199
97
Madagascar
2,132
98
Germany
1,899
99
Romania
1,825
100
Montenegro
1,804
101
Saint Lucia
1,591
102
Chile
1,447
103
Sao Tome and Principe
1,255
104
France
1,105
105
Vanuatu
997
106
Cape Verde
975
107
Qatar
868
108
Samoa
809
109
Brunei Darussalam
797
110
Portugal
702
111
Azores Islands (Port.)
702
112
Madeira Islands (Port.)
702
113
Grenada
553
114
Sweden
514
115
Ireland
508
116
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
466
117
Poland
439
118
Georgia
424
119
Canada
421
120
Dominica
408
121
Finland
397
122
Namibia
387
123
Barbados
302
124
Puerto Rico (USA)
287
125
Oman
258
126
Tonga
246
127
Latvia
211
128
Bahrain
204
129
Bahamas
179
130
Antigua and Barbuda
172
131
Micronesia
167
132
DRC
149
133
Norway
130
Plastic Waste Doesn’t Stay Local
Plastic debris often travels thousands of kilometers across oceans, carried solely by currents, wind, tides, and time.
For example, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—a massive swirling zone between California and Hawaii—accumulates plastic from as far as Asia, North America, and South America.
The patch spans around 1.6 million km², comparable to twice the size of Texas.
The annual economic costs due to marine plastic pollution are estimated to be between $6-19 billion. According to the OECD, preventing land-based plastic leakage into the ocean across 38 member countries and 10 major plastic waste emitters in Asia and Africa could cost more than $86 billion.
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By Zerohedge
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