The world generates 51.7 million tons of plastic pollution every year and spreads it from the depths of the ocean to the highest peaks and inside the human bodyaccording to a new study that also indicates that more than two-thirds come from the global south.
This annual pollution is enough to fill Central Park, in New Yorkwith plastic waste as high as the Empire State Building, according to researchers at the University of Leeds in the UK. Scientists examined waste produced locally in more than 50,000 cities and towns around the world to conduct the study.published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
The study examined plastic that enters the environment, not plastic that is buried in landfills or burned properly. In 15% of the world’s population, The government does not collect or dispose of plasticthe study authors note, which is one of the main reasons why Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa generate the most plastic waste. This includes 255 million people in India, the study says.
Lagos, Nigeria, emitted more plastic waste than any other cityaccording to Costas Velis, professor of environmental engineering at Leeds and one of the authors of the study. The other cities that produce the most plastic pollution are New Delhi; Luanda, Angola; Karachi, Pakistan and Al Qahirah, Egypt.
India is the world’s largest producer of plastic waste, producing 9.3 million tons per yearmore than twice as much as the polluting nations below it, Nigeria and Indonesia. China, often criticized for its pollution output, is in fourth place but is making great strides to reduce its waste, Velis said. Other major plastic polluters include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia and Brazil.Those eight nations are responsible for more than half of the world’s plastic pollution, according to the study’s data.
The United States ranks 90th in plastic pollution productionwith more than 47,600 tons, while the United Kingdom is in 135th place with 4,600 tons, according to the study.
In 2022, most of the world’s nations agreed to formulate the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the oceans. Final negotiations on the treaty will take place in South Korea in November.