Comment on Why don't we just gather up all the ocean's trash and all the nonrecyclables, put them in a rocket, and launch it into the sun?

• yesman@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

  Ocean trash comes from plastic manufacturers. Responsible wealthy countries ship their dutiful recyclables to garbage pits in poor countries.

  Most poor people don’t even have the education or resources to polymerize crude into poly-vinyl, it’s harder than you’d think.

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• kent_eh@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

  A lot of ocean trash comes by river from poor countries.

  Also by river from wealthy countries, and has done so for centuries.

  The scope of the task of removing it is far bigger than OP can imagine.

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  • bestboyfriendintheworld@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

    ourworldindata.org/ocean-plastics

    Most of the plastic in our oceans comes from land-based sources: by weight, 70% to 80% is plastic that is transported from land to the sea via rivers or coastlines

    Most of the world’s largest emitting rivers are in Asia, with some also in East Africa and the Caribbean

    Seven of the top ten rivers are in the Philippines. Two are in India, and one in Malaysia. The Pasig River in the Philippines alone accounts for 6.4% of global river plastics

    Rich countries tend to have better functioning waste collection and disposal services.

    source

    • kent_eh@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

      Rich countries tend to have better functioning waste collection and disposal services.

      These days it is a lot better, but it wasn’t always that way.

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      • bestboyfriendintheworld@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago

        It has been that way for many decades.

        source