AI visualisation predicts how our beaches will look as ocean waste is set to rise by 274% by 2050
Our
waters
stretch
across
more
than
70%
of
the
Earth’s
surface
with
97%
of
our
planet’s
water
residing
within
our
oceans.
A
new
study by
Direct365,
an
essential
business
services
provider,
has
uncovered
the
countries
and
industries
contributing
the
most
to
ocean
pollution
and
used
AI
to
visualise
how
beaches
will
look
in
the
future
due
to
rising
ocean
waste.
Analysing
data,
the
research
compiled
how
many
tonnes
of
waste
each
county
contributes
to
our
oceans
each
year
and
how
much
this
is
predicted
to
rise
to
by
2050,
the
industries
that
need
to
step
up
their
green
initiatives
and
ways
in
which
we
can
all
work
collectively
to
reducing
the
impact
of
waste
in
our
oceans.
Ocean
waste
is
predicted
to
rise
274%
by
2050
In
2020,
data
confirmed
that
there
are
1,223,850
tonnes
of
waste
disposed
in
the
ocean,
with
future
predictions
standing
at
a
rise
of
60%
by
2030,
147.4%
by
2040
and
274%
by
2050.
Direct365
used
Our
World
Online
to
analyse
plastic
emitted
to
the
ocean
(per
capita,
per
share
of
the
world
and
total),
the
probability
of
ocean
pollution
by
country
and
mismanaged
plastic
waste
by
country.
The
top
10
ocean
polluters
in
the
world
|
Rank |
Country |
Year |
Plastic waste emitted to the ocean (metric tons year) |
Share of global plastics emitted to ocean |
Total waste emitted to the ocean (metric tons year)* |
Probability of plastic being emitted to ocean |
Mismanaged plastic waste (metric tons year) |
Forecasted Plastic waste in 2050 (million tons) |
| 1 | Philippines | 2019 | 356,371 | 36.38% | 445,464 | 7.17% | 4,025,300 |
2,410,328.2 |
| 2 | India | 2019 | 126,513 | 12.92% | 158,141 | 0.45% | 12,994,100 |
855,675.1 |
| 3 | Malaysia | 2019 | 73,098 | 7.46% | 91,373 | 4.38% | 814,454 |
494,401.0 |
| 4 | China | 2019 | 70,707 | 7.22% | 88,384 | 0.19% | 12,272,200 |
478,229.4 |
| 5 | Indonesia | 2019 | 56,333 | 5.75% | 70,416 | 4.45% | 824,234 |
381,010.3 |
| 6 | Brazil | 2019 | 37,799 | 3.86% | 47,249 | 0.24% | 3,296,700 |
255,654.9 |
| 7 | Vietnam | 2019 | 28,221 | 2.88% | 35,276 | 1.60% | 1,112,790 |
190,873.7 |
| 8 | Bangladesh | 2019 | 24,640 | 2.52% | 30,800 | 2.32% | 1,021,990 |
166,653.5 |
| 9 | Thailand | 2019 | 22,806 | 2.33% | 28,508 | 0.90% | 1,361,690 |
154,249.2 |
| 10 | Nigeria | 2019 | 18,640 | 1.90% | 23,300 | 0.42% | 1,948,950 |
126,072.3 |
The
top
10
worst
countries
contributing
to
plastic
waste
in
the
ocean
are
primarily
from
Asia.
These
top
ten
countries
account
for
83.22%
of
the
total
plastic
waste
emitted
globally.
In
2019
the
Philippines
emitted
356,371
metric
tonnes
of
plastic,
topping
the
list.
India
closely
followed
with
126,513
metric
tonnes.
Future
predictions
show
the
Philippines
reaching
2,410,328
million
tonnes
and
India
855,675.10
tonnes
respectively.
Aside
from
the
Philippines,
India
and
Malaysia,
the
remaining
countries
make
relatively
negligible
impact.
The
remaining
countries
collectively
contribute
less
than
1%
of
waste
each,
making
a
fairly
minimal
impact
on
global
ocean
pollution.
Economic
structures,
waste
management
policies
and
population
densities
all
play
a
role
in
determining
a
country’s
waste
contribution.
No
matter
how
big
or
small
the
contribution,
it
still
needs
to
be
minimised
in
order
to
safeguard
our
environment.
AI
predicts
how
beaches
will
look
in
the
future
due
to
rising
ocean
pollution
Ocean
waste
is
predicted
to
rise
by
274%
by
2050.
Direct365
used
AI
to
visualise
what
the
most
popular
beaches
of
the
top
countries
with
the
worst
waste
pollution
would
look
like
in
2050.
This
was
visualised
by
using
the
percentage
of
the
country’s
share
in
global
plastics
emitted
to
the
ocean.
Philippines’
Bounty
Beach
is
expected
to
be
covered
by
36.38%
of
waste
pollution
Palolem
Beach
in
India
predicted
to
be
covered
by
12.92%
of
plastic
by
2050
7.46%
of
Pantai
Cenang
in
Malaysia
to
be
covered
by
waste
by
2050
Karl
Bantleman
at
Direct365
said, “It
is
now
becoming
increasingly
obvious
that
the
ocean
waste
crisis
demands
urgent
action.
With
97%
of
our
water
being
our
oceans,
it
is
essential
governments
and
industries
implement
increased
investment
to
tackle
waste.
With
predictions
that 6,624,600
tonnes
of
waste
will
inhabit
our
oceans
by
2050, we
must
remember
how
important
it
is
to
do
our
bit
at
work
and
home
and
recycling
is
one
of
the
easiest
ways
to
ensure
that
we
reuse
material
that
would
otherwise
most
likely
end
up
in
our
oceans.”
One
thing’s
for
certain;
we
simply
cannot
continue
emitting
waste
into
our
oceans
at
such
a
scale.
While
this
is
a
global
issue
that
some
countries
contribute
significantly
more
than
others
to,
implementation
of
waste
management
solutions
should
be
taken
from
the
ground
up,
starting
in
those
industries
that
contribute
most
drastically
to
ocean
pollution.”
