Real men take accountability for their actions and when 90% of the trash comes from you, you should take responsibility of such thing too. With that said, in a study published in Scientific Reports by a team of researchers from nonprofit Ocean Cleanup and Wageningen University of the Netherlands found that 90% of identifiable trash in the North Pacific Garbage Patch (NPGP) can be traced to 6 countries around the world.
The NPGP is a large area of the ocean that has accumulated, based on ocean flow, a massive patch floating trash weighing tens and thousands of tons, covering several millions of square kilometers. This patch of trash is an endangerment to marine life, our ocean ecosystem, human life, and worst of all the sustainability of this planet. In addition, the massive patch of garbage is just the tip of the iceberg of who much trash humans actually produce and the risks it has on our planet and health.
For their study, researchers collected and sorted through 6,000 pieces of trash from the NPGP and traced theior source using labels, language, and logos/symbols and whatever other data they can from from it. Sadly, third of the trash could not be traced back to their country of origin. The found that 26% of the trash was due to fishing equipment and while 3% of what they found were plastic floats and buoys, this took up an enormous 21% of the mass.
For the trash they were able to identify their location of origin, these countries had the highest amount and this Dishonor Roll and Walk of Shame belongs to the following countries that together accounted for 92% of all the trash researchers can identify:
- Japan – 33.6%
- China – 32.2%
- South Korea – 9.9%
- United States – 6.5%
- Taiwan – 5.6%
- Canada. – 4.7%
They also found the majority of the ocean trash and plastic comes from fishing activities.
Between plastic use and waste plus the atrocities of the fishing industry, these activities have accounted for a disproportionate amount of trash being dumped into the ocean, at least identifiable ones. Both of which should probably be stopped due to its industrial nature in substitute of sustainable practices.
L Lebreton et al. Industrialised fishing nations largely contribute to floating plastic pollution in the North Pacific subtropical gyre. Scientific Reports (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16529-0
