Research reveals the top ten ocean plastic polluters contributing to a “systemic problem”

23 Feb 2023 --- A study published in Science Advances has revealed the top ten countries emitting plastic pollutants in the waters around them. Louis Lugas, graphic designer, used data from the research paper by Lourens Meijer, director of sustainability at Philips and his team to create a graphic revealing the top oceanic polluters.

According to the study, one million metric tons of plastic enters the oceans annually. Ocean plastics have formed a vortex of plastic waste three times the size of France in the Pacific Ocean between California, and Hawaii, US, known as The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. 

Lugas modeled his graphic after the patch, dividing waste sectors into countries’ plastic pollution quantities. The Philippines took the number one spot by leaking 356,372 metric tons annually into its waterways. 

“I cited the study by Lourens Meijer and it focused on mathematical estimation on how the plastic waste emits to the oceans from the rivers. And these countries are the main polluters mainly because of the geographical and climate conditions,” Lugas tells PackagingInsights. 

Graphic made by Louis Lugas of the top countries who contribute to ocean plastics (Image credit: Visual Capitalist).Countries in the top
The Philippines is estimated to emit 35% of the ocean’s plastic with 36,289 kilometers of coastline and 4,820 plastic-emitting rivers, cites Lugas.

The other members in the list that make up over 75% of the accumulated plastic in the ocean are India, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Bangladesh and Thailand. Brazil was the only non-Asian country to make it into the top ten.

“Tropical countries have a bigger precipitation, can easily wash trash from river basins to rivers and drive the trash from the river to the ocean. Small archipelagos and small islands tend to have a shorter river or distance to the ocean,” continues Lugas.

Smaller countries take the blame
Lugas says the belief that the countries producing or consuming the most plastic are the ones that pollute the oceans the most is “not true.” He continues that countries with a smaller geographical area, longer coastlines, high rainfall and poor waste management systems are more likely to wash plastics into the sea.

He gives the example of China, which generates ten times the quantity of plastic waste as Malaysia, yet 9% of Malaysia’s total plastic waste is estimated to reach the ocean, compared to China’s 0.6%. List of the countries that contribute the most to oceanic plastic waste. 

“Many high-income countries generate high amounts of plastic waste but are either better at processing it or exporting it to other countries. Meanwhile, many of the middle-income and low-income countries that both demand plastics and receive bulk exports have yet to develop the infrastructure needed to process it,” Lugas says. 

On the other hand, Lugas acknowledges that much of the plastic waste these Asian countries have to deal with is sent from outside countries. “There are many reports about plastic waste import-export from western countries to third world countries.”

Whose responsibility?
Lugas says most of the plastic waste in deep blue waters comes from the litter in parks, beaches or along storm drains. The plastic waste is carried into gutters, streams and rivers by wind and rainwater runoff. The graphic designer calls these rivers that send plastics into the oceans “plastic superhighways.” 

“If I have to tell who is responsible for it personally, it’s all of us: the governments, plastic producer companies and all the people who use it and throw it irresponsibly. It is a systemic problem, everyone has its portion,” he asserts.

Lugas recommends “making laws to reduce and recycle the plastic waste in public spaces like in Japan. Making laws to reduce the plastic production from companies (maybe like carbon pricing) and researching for better recycling, or better material and put the peoples’ tax money to it.”

“The basics of [what countries should do to minimize their plastic waste] are reduce, reuse and recycle. But those three parts have to be done systemically, from the government or law-maker level to habit-changing public citizen level,” he concludes. 

By Sabine Waldeck