blog entry #2
What Happens to the Plastic we Throw Out?
by Laura Parker
The amount of waste transferred from coastal regions into the ocean, is higher in developing counties, often due to their lack of proper waste collection systems. However not all trash comes directly from the coast, the contamination of rivers, either directly or indirectly (movement of trash by rainfall), contributes a significant amount of waste. The lack of waste management in regions such as Philippines resulted in the Pasig river being declared biologically dead in 1990. Once this trash enters into the ocean, it is then transported around the globe across ocean currents, with much of it eventually collecting upon islands or swirling in large swaths around the sea. Marine life faces danger from more than just the obvious plastics bags and empty six pack containers, as micro plastics are nearly inescapable.
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| "plastic waste from the top 3,000 waste producing rivers, metric tons" |
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| "estimated mid-range plastic waster entering the ocean from rivers per year, metric tons" |
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