The United States is by far the country that produces the most plastic waste in the world, according to a report published yesterday, which calls for the adoption of a national strategy to deal with the phenomenon.
In total, the US produced about 42 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2016, twice as many as China and larger than all EU countries, according to a report by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. But less than 5% of the world’s population lives in the United States.
On average, every American produces 130 kilograms of plastic waste per year. The second place is occupied by Britain with 98 kg per person.
“The success of the wonderful invention of plastic in the 20th century has also caused a global flood of plastic waste everywhere we look,” wrote Margaret Spring, chair of the panel of experts who drafted the report, which was requested by the US Congress.
She described the program as an “environmental and social crisis”.
At least 8.8 million tonnes of plastic waste end up in the oceans each year, the equivalent of a garbage truck dumping rubbish in the sea every minute, the report said.
All plastics, including those dumped on land, can end up in the oceans, for example by rivers.
At current rates, the amount of plastics dumped in the oceans could reach 53 million tonnes a year by 2030.
Scientific research has shown that some marine species tend to be trapped in plastic waste or swallowed by microplastics.
Although plastics production has risen sharply since the 1980s, recycling has not kept pace.
The report recommends that a national strategy be adopted in the US by the end of 2022. It addresses a number of areas to address the problem, such as setting a limit on non-recyclable plastic production, increasing the use of plastic substitutes or safer disposal. of plastics.
At the same time, he proposes to collect better data on the production of plastic, identifying for example the main sources of plastic waste.
“This is the most comprehensive report on plastic waste contamination ever published,” said Judith Enk, president of Beyond Plastics.
“We can no longer ignore the role of the United States in the plastic pollution crisis, one of the greatest environmental threats facing our oceans and planet today,” said Christie Levitt, director of the Oceana NGO’s campaign against plastics. .
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