More than 52 million tons of plastic are dumped into the environment every year, according to a study by ‘Nature’

Every year, some 52 million tons of plastic products are dumped into the environment, waste that, if placed online, would travel around the world more than 1,500 times, according to a study published on Wednesday. in the magazine NatureThe work, led by the University of Leeds (United Kingdom), has used artificial intelligence to map waste management in 50,702 cities around the world and calculate how much waste is generated and what happens to it.

The article concludes that the main pathways of plastic pollution in the world are uncollected litter and open burning of this waste, a practice that poses a serious threat to human health. According to the study, more than two-thirds of the world’s plastic pollution comes from uncollected litter, as almost 1.2 billion people (15% of the world’s population) lack these services.

The study also reveals that in 2020, some 30 million tons of plastics were burned without any environmental control, which represents 57% of all plastic pollution in homes, streets and landfills. By geographic area, the research reveals that India is the country that dumps the most plastics into the environment – ​​and not China, as suggested in previous models – followed by Nigeria and Indonesia.

In light of these data, the researchers warn that garbage collection should be considered a basic need, like water and sewage services, and that although the uncontrolled burning of plastic has received very little attention in the past, it is a problem as serious as that of garbage thrown into the environment.

More than 400 million tons of plastic are produced each year, much of it single-use or difficult to recycle, but which can remain in the environment for decades or centuries, some with potentially harmful chemical additives, especially if burned in the open air.

According to the global data estimated by the document in 2020, the most polluting countries were: India, with 9.3 million tonnes, around a fifth of the total; Nigeria (3.5 million tonnes) and Indonesia (3.4). China, previously considered the worst, now ranks fourth, with 2.8 million tonnes, thanks to improvements introduced in recent years in waste collection and treatment, while the United Kingdom ranks 135th, with around 4,000 tonnes per year.

In low- and middle-income countries, the generation of plastic waste is much lower, according to the study, but much of it is either not collected or is dumped in landfills. India appears as the largest contributor because it has a large population of about 1.4 billion people and much of its waste is not collected.

In the countries of the northern hemisphere, despite the high consumption of plastic, pollution by macroplastics (larger than five millimetres) is relatively a problem thanks to waste management systems. In this area, littering is the main cause of pollution by macroplastics.

Although many sub-Saharan African countries still have low levels of pollution, they become hotspots when considered on a per capita basis, with an average of 12 kilograms per person per year, equivalent to more than 400 plastic bottles, while the UK, for example, has less than three plastic bottles per person per year.

The study warns that sub-Saharan Africa could become the world’s largest source of plastic pollution in the coming decades, due to poor waste management and rapid population growth.

The researchers conclude that this first global inventory of plastic pollution provides a baseline—comparable to that of climate change emissions—that policymakers can use to address this looming environmental disaster.

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