Plastic Pollution in the Oceans Comes From Rivers!!
Remember, we had a previous post about Ocean Cleanup and The Great Pacific Garbage Patch. It’s also called the Pacific Trash Vortex.
Which raises the question, how does all this garbage, trash, and plastic end up in our Ocean? Where does it come from?
Rivers.
Most of the trash in our oceans comes from rivers. Rivers from around the world:
California, Thailand, Philippines,Malaysia, Vietnam, Mexico, Indonesia, and China, to name a few.
To stop the oceans from being trusted, we need to stop the trash at its source: The Rivers.
It’s a Plastics Tsunami in the Rivers
One of our favorite organizations is The Ocean Clean Up. According to The Ocean’s Clean Up:
Rivers are a major source of plastic waste in the oceans. We estimate that 1000 rivers…are accountable for nearly 80% of global annual riverine plastic emissions, which range between 0.8 – 2.7 million metric tons per year, with small urban rivers amongst the most polluting. The Ocean’s Clean Up.
Plastics in the ocean starts in the rivers
It’s freaking crazy is what it is. Rivers are the primary way that plastics get into our mother ocean. Okay. More crazy….
Two separate studies concluded that 90% of the plastic from rivers comes from the world’s three largest rivers: Nile, Amazon and Yangtze.
Nile River plastic trash is crazy
It’s just as crazy as it looks. The Nile river in Egypt.
Amazon River Plastic Pollution
They say an an average of 30 tons of garbage is removed daily from the Amazon waterways. And that’s a “small dent.” Maybe.
The Amazon river in South America.
The Yangtze River Plastic Pollution is the Worst
The Yangtze River accounts for 55% of all river plastic pollution – is that nuts?
“Yangtze river in China is by far the worst culprit. There is a major pollution problem, with 333,000 metric tons of plastic being carried by the Yangtze to the oceans each year.”
Where does the Yangtze river flow? What cities? Shangai (22 million), Wuhan (9.8 million) and Chongqin (7.5 million).
Yep, you might have heard of Wuhan before.
We’re not trying to diss China…. or the Chinese people… it’s just the way it is…
Let’s not forget about the USA – Mississippi
Yep, there’s plenty of plastic pollution here in the ole USA.
This is my favorite river
Seriously. I play volleyball here every week.
I know it’s a funky little river.
This photo was taken when it hadn’t rained in San Diego for over a month. But nevertheless, the river has a sewage sign.
See?
“Bacteria levels exceed health standards”
Contact with water man cause illness.
What they mean it that the water has been tested and has e-coli.
You get an E. coli infection by coming into contact with the feces, or stool…
Feces – is a nice way of saying SHIT!!!
Hey, let’s go down to the rivermouth. Surfs going off.
But, it’s “shitty surf.”
Is it going off or shitty?
Both, here, as it turns out.
This video shows the river… wait – you’ll see it..
My dog Shiloh is in the river. He loves the river. On this day, there wasn’t any Sewage Warning signs.
Like I said, we love this river.
