What is the source of plastic emissions by region?

This map shows the plastic waste (emissions) created by each country. Image credit: GPML 

Another data set found on the GPML Data Portal shows which countries and regions emit the most plastic waste. Emissions are defined as “materials that have moved from the managed or mismanaged system (controlled or contained state) to the unmanaged system (uncontrolled or uncontained state—the environment).” Emissions do not necessarily reach the ocean, but they do get into the environment, so it is useful to know where the potential sources of plastic to the ocean might reside.

This data set was generated from a September 4, 2024, article in the journal Nature titled: A local-to-global emissions inventory of macroplastic pollution. The study was conducted by the School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, United Kingdom, and was based on 2020 data.

The authors classified the emissions according to two categories: (1) debris (physical particles >5mm) and (2) open burning (mass combusted in open uncontrolled fires). Some findings:

• 52.1million metric tons (Mt/year) of macroplastic waste were emitted into the unmanaged system in 2020, representing 21%(by weight) of all the municipal plastic waste generated (251.7 Mt/year) globally.
• Approximately 43% (22.2Mt/year) is unburned ‘debris’, meaning that it is no longer subject to any form of management or direct control and is at risk of transport across land and into the aquatic environment.

Image credit: Cottom, J.W., Cook, E. & Velis, C.A.

As you can see from the chart on the left (above), the report identifies the regions of the world emitting the most macro plastic and how much comes from a city, town, or rural areas. The chart on the right indicates how much is debris and how much is burned in the open. The report indicates that:

• India, the world’s largest absolute emitter, is ranked 127 on a per-capita basis.
• China, the world’s fourth-largest absolute emitter, is one of the least polluting Upper Middle Income countries on a per capita basis, ranked 153.
• Russia, the world’s fifth-largest emitter on an absolute basis, also has high emissions on a per-capita basis (because it is reported to have very low levels of controlled disposal).
• Many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that show low absolute plastic emissions are hotspots on a per-capita basis. Given the anticipated population boom in the region, it is conceivable that Sub-Saharan Africa will become the world’s largest absolute source of plastic pollution within the next few decades.