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Plastic pollution hotspots pinpointed in new research—India ranks top due to high levels of uncollected waste

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2024-09-08 15:30:05

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

We have used machine learning to identify the biggest plastic pollution hotspots across more than 50,000 towns, cities and rural areas worldwide. Our new global model reveals the most detailed picture of plastic pollution ever created with the highest environmental concentrations in India, predominantly because so much of its waste isn't collected.

Plastic has been found everywhere—from deep ocean trenches to the highest mountain tops, but these observations only reveal isolated snapshots of the overall plastic pollution picture. A bigger challenge is to find out where and how this plastic reaches the environment in the first place, so pollution can be prevented at source.

This is no easy task. The most challenging aspects to measure are the "emissions"—the macroplastic (anything bigger than 5mm in size) that escapes or is released from material systems and activities. This includes waste blowing from rubbish bins or falling off collection trucks plus litter being dropped by people, either accidentally or intentionally.