The United States’ contribution of plastic waste to land and ocean

TLDR

Plastic waste degrades environmental quality and ecosystem health, with 5–13 Mt entering the ocean in 2010 from both developing and high‑income countries. In 2016 the United States produced 42 Mt of plastic waste, the largest globally, with 0.14–0.41 Mt illegally dumped domestically and 0.15–0.99 Mt inadequately managed abroad, raising its coastal‑environment contribution to up to five times the 2010 level and ranking among the world’s highest.

Abstract

Plastic waste affects environmental quality and ecosystem health. In 2010, an estimated 5 to 13 million metric tons (Mt) of plastic waste entered the ocean from both developing countries with insufficient solid waste infrastructure and high-income countries with very high waste generation. We demonstrate that, in 2016, the United States generated the largest amount of plastic waste of any country in the world (42.0 Mt). Between 0.14 and 0.41 Mt of this waste was illegally dumped in the United States, and 0.15 to 0.99 Mt was inadequately managed in countries that imported materials collected in the United States for recycling. Accounting for these contributions, the amount of plastic waste generated in the United States estimated to enter the coastal environment in 2016 was up to five times larger than that estimated for 2010, rendering the United States' contribution among the highest in the world.