Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
2015; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 347; Issue: 6223 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1126/science.1260352
ISSN1095-9203
AutoresJenna Jambeck, Roland Geyer, Chris Wilcox, Theodore R. Siegler, Miriam Elaine Perryman, Anthony L. Andrady, Ramáni Narayan, Kara Lavender Law,
Tópico(s)Municipal Solid Waste Management
ResumoPlastic debris in the marine environment is widely documented, but the quantity of plastic entering the ocean from waste generated on land is unknown. By linking worldwide data on solid waste, population density, and economic status, we estimated the mass of land-based plastic waste entering the ocean. We calculate that 275 million metric tons (MT) of plastic waste was generated in 192 coastal countries in 2010, with 4.8 to 12.7 million MT entering the ocean. Population size and the quality of waste management systems largely determine which countries contribute the greatest mass of uncaptured waste available to become plastic marine debris. Without waste management infrastructure improvements, the cumulative quantity of plastic waste available to enter the ocean from land is predicted to increase by an order of magnitude by 2025.
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