Video Transcript:
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, billions of pounds of trash are dumped into the ocean each year.
Five giant garbage patches exist. The largest, in the Pacific, has 1.8 trillion pieces of trash and is twice the size of Texas.
In response, bans on straws became popular to help reduce ocean plastic.
Even Queen Elizabeth banned plastic straws from all royal estates.
Yet, straws don’t make up much of the ocean plastic.
Plastic straws actually account for only a tiny percentage (around 0.03%) of plastics that enter the oceans each year. Instead of straws, discarded fishing gear dumped into waterways, is the main problem.
In addition, the bulk of ocean plastic doesn't originate in the U.S. or the U.K.
Instead, 90% of ocean trash comes from Asia and Africa.
The World Economic Forum found that 10 rivers all in Asia and Africa carry 93% of the trash that ends up in the ocean.
This is partly caused by the lack of wastewater treatment infrastructure in developing nations.
A 2016 UN Report found that 90% of all wastewater generated in developing countries is discharged without primary treatment.
Ocean pollution is a problem that needs a real solution, not virtue signaling.
Helping developing nations create better waste water treatment facilities is the answer.
Learn more, visit iwf.org.