The US is the top producer of plastic waste in the world.
A new congressionally mandated report for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine paints an ugly picture of the amount of plastic waste the country produces, much of which ends up leaking into the ocean.
According to the report, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enters the world's ocean each year, which is the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck of plastic waste into the ocean every minute.
The US was a huge contributor. The US generated more plastic waste by weight and per capita than any other nation in 2016 and most of it ends up in landfills.
Half of the total weight of fish caught from the ocean each year is due to plastic in the ocean.
A lot of this plastic ends up leaking into the environment through a variety of processes, including illegal dumping, permitted or unintentional discharges, and the mismanagement of exported plastic waste to other countries.
The amount of plastic waste that ends up leaking into the environment has failed to make a meaningful dent in recycling. The marine and freshwater life is hard hit. Scientists documented cases of animals getting entangled in plastic waste across hundreds of studies.
Scientists are calling for the US government to come up with an equitable and effective interventions across the entire plastic life cycle to reduce the US contribution of plastic waste to the environment.
Other countries have taken steps, including restrictions on single-use plastic.
It is a dire situation. The researchers note in their report that nature is being overwhelmed by a large amount of plastic waste.
More plastic is ending up in landfills overseas, so exporting extra plastic waste to other countries is not addressing the problem.
It is not certain whether US leadership will implement meaningful change. Climate change concerns are driving oil producers away from refining it for fuel and towards producing plastic.
The Washington Post reported that the director of Oceana said that the United States can no longer ignore its role in the plastic pollution crisis.
She said that the finger-pointing stops now.
The US is the world's biggest plastic polluter.
Plastic waste is turned into refinery-quality oil.
Are you interested in supporting clean energy adoption? UnderstandSolar.com can show you how much money you could save by using solar power. Futurism.com may receive a small commission if you sign up through this link.
