India has emerged as the largest plastic polluter in the world.
A new study by the University of Leeds, published in the journal Nature, has revealed that India is the biggest contributor to plastic pollution.
57 million tons of plastic pollution are produced each year, spread to every surface on Earth – from the deepest trenches, mountain peaks to the human brain.
The researchers gave an example to explain the massive scale of plastic waste production.
The annual global plastic waste is enough to fill New York City’s Central Park and stack up to 157 Empire State Buildings.
Nearly two-thirds of this pollution is generated by uncollected and improperly disposed waste.
This is because around 15% of the world lacks access to proper waste collection services.
This leads to haphazard disposal of waste that continues to grow.
India topped the list, generating 9.3 million tonnes of plastic waste, double the amount generated by more populous countries like China, Nigeria and Indonesia.
Earlier, China had generated plastic waste at a higher level but it later improved and generated 2.8 million tonnes, a significant improvement from its previous record.
