One of the biggest types of pollution is that of the ocean. And yet, it is not talked about as often. Many countries dump their waste products into the ocean which threatens and takes the lives of many aquatic beings. Recently, Visual Capitalist produced a rating which highlighted 10 countries that were the biggest ocean polluters in the world. While there are many factors to waste management, the list was majorly composed of Asian countries.
10 Countries That Are The Biggest Ocean Polluters
This particular list was made by the Visual Capitalist and it evaluated the amount of plastic waste generated by each country that ended up in the ocean. The Philippines accounts for the most amount of plastic waste that is dumped in the ocean.
Following is the list of the top 10 countries that are the biggest polluters of the ocean and how many metric tonnes of plastic waste they generate: –
- The Philippines, 356,371 metric tonnes
- India, 126,513 metric tonnes
- Malaysia, 73,098 metric tonnes
- China, 70,707 metric tonnes
- Indonesia, 56,333 metric tonnes
- Myanmar, 40,000 metric tonnes
- Brazil, 37,799 metric tonnes
- Vietnam, 28,221 metric tonnes
- Bangladesh, 24,640 metric tonnes
- Thailand, 22,806 metric tonnes
Also Read: NCCR Rates These 3 Chennai Beaches Out Of 75 As Clean And Comparatively Plastic And Pollution Free!
How Does So Much Waste End Up In The Ocean?
Looking at this data, it’s easy to conclude that such countries utilise a lot of plastic. However, that is not the case. These countries are not the biggest consumers of plastic. One of the biggest reasons is that Multinational corporations from developed countries have plants and factories in many of these countries.
These corporations dump their waste in third world countries which are unequipped to deal with the waste efficiently. That is another reason why developed countries have ranked high on this list. While it is indeed because they manage their waste better, it is also because these countries simply transport their waste to other, often third-world, countries.
Also Read: Hundreds Of Women In Jharkhand’s Lohardaga Are Raising Awareness Against Household Air Pollution
How do you think our country can more effectively manage waste? Let us know in the comments below!
Cover Image Credits: Canva Images