ErNandyFeb 20, 2023

Which Countries Pollute the Most Ocean Plastic Waste?

Millions of metric tons of plastic are produced worldwide every year. While half of this plastic waste is recycled, incinerated, or discarded into landfills, a significant portion of what remains eventually ends up in our oceans.

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/visualized-ocean-plastic-waste-pollution-by-country/

#activism #climate #climatechange #pollution #Science #nature #biodiversity #ClimateEmergency #ocean #plastic #climatejustice #photo #photography #environment #wildlife #BiodiversityCrisis

Which Countries Pollute the Most Ocean Plastic Waste?

This graphic visualizes the top 10 countries emitting plastic pollutants into our oceans.

Visual Capitalist
Show threadNatzFeb 21, 2023
@ernandy the #UK used to send most of its #PlasticWaste to China before they realised we were sending contaminated, difficult-to-recycle crap. Malaysia and Indonesia picked up the slack after China banned our exports. Are these countries “responsible” for plastic waste entering the ocean? Whose plastic is it anyway? All countries need to clear up. #Litter is rarely one person’s fault, but it is everyone’s responsibility. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46566795
Recycling: Where is the plastic waste mountain?

A year ago China imposed a ban on waste imports, so what's happened to the UK's plastic?

BBC News
Show threadLooking for explanations…Feb 21, 2023
@Natz @ernandy Poor people in such countries are often forced to buy single serve/use products in plastic sachets because they can’t afford larger (& cheaper in long term) packages. This probably contributes significantly to the amount of plastic waste produced.
Show threadNatz

@Susan60 @ernandy which begs the question; why is it legal for the producers of those single-use-plastic sachets (Unilever, a huge multi-national company) are allowed to sell them in countries that don’t have the waste management infrastructure to deal with it https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/aug/01/how-unilever-plastic-sachets-became-a-toxic-scourge-oceans

#BoycotUnilever #PlasticWaste #ProducerPays

Single servings at low prices: how Unilever’s sachets became an environmental scourge

Plastic in the Depths: Multinational denies dropping plan to recycle plastic sachets – and leaving developing countries with a toxic headache as they end up in landfill or the ocean

The Guardian
Feb 22, 2023 at 7:32amWeb
Show threadLooking for explanations…Feb 22, 2023
@Natz @ernandy Because those countries haven’t legislated to outlaw them. There’d probably be riots if they did, because so many people would be unable to afford to buy larger quantities.
Show threadNatzFeb 23, 2023
@Susan60 @ernandy I disagree. It is not the fault of the poor in Indonesia that Unilever has brought cheap convenience to their homes and pollution to their environment. How did people survive before single use sachets? How did humans exist before all the products Unilever make? My family survive just fine without any of them. Capitalism is killing the Earth.
#BoycottUnilever #CapitalismKills
Show threadLooking for explanations…Feb 23, 2023
@Natz @ernandy Exactly. People who buy these things have no choice.