New Study: Ranks Countries Polluting the Oceans the Worst With Plastic

A new study shows 81% of plastic waste in the ocean emanates from Asia, while the United States contributed just .2% to the growing crisis.

Eleven million metric tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year killing 700 species and contaminating the human food chain with toxic chemicals causing disease and death.

ReUseThisBag.com today released a study on Countries Polluting the Oceans the Most after analyzing new academic research published in April 2021.

Key Findings:

•  Mismanaged waste from 1000 rivers, mostly in Asia, accounts for 80% of ocean plastic.
• Top Five Countries: Philippines ranks No. 1 accounting for 36.4% of plastic in the oceans followed by India (12.9%), Malaysia (7.5%), China (7.2%) and Indonesia (5.8%)
• U.S. is the world’s No. 1 plastic waste creator per capita but due to our waste management most of it ends up in landfills and not the ocean.

3 Things Individual Americans Can Do:

•  Ask Local Government for Global Response: Demanding local recycling improvements is important.  However, given 81% of plastic comes from Asia, we should ask our representatives to push Washington, D.C. for global action.
• Reduce Your Use of Single-Use Plastics: Single-use plastics such as plastic bags, water bottles and take-out containers are used once and then discarded. Start to bring your own reusable bag, coffee cup and water bottle.
• Support Bans: Many places around the world have bans on single-use plastic bags. In the U.S., eight states have imposed a ban while one-third of America has laws preventing plastic bans. Support of these bans is a step in the right direction.