[i88y6]

I'm skeptical that that many of them are getting into the ocean. I wonder if it would be more effective to put a UUID on them and tell the public that if one of these is found in the ocean a full investigation will be launched. Not just for reprisal, but to develop "user stories" about how this shit gets into the ocean. If they determine that you dumped it , then you get fined to pay for 10^5 lbs of trash to be removed from the sea. If there's even a little FUD of getting caught (via UUID) I think it would result in a huge reduction in littering.

[BurningFrog]

The plastic in the oceans is overwhelmingly from the unsorted trash of east Asia. Europe and North America contribute very small amounts.

https://reason.com/blog/2018/04/22/earth-day-and-the-plastic...

[latchkey]

Living in Vietnam, I concur. It is literally the culture to throw stuff everywhere and not care about it. Someone else will pick it up. Except someone else doesn't and there is no way deal with that since there is so much trash.

Outside my apartment, there is a river. It used to be more of an open sewer. Eventually the government started sending a barge with two guys on it down the river multiple times a day to pick up the trash. The barge gets maybe about 5% of the trash it passes since the river is much wider than the barge. Because there is a daily tide, all the water in the river flows out to the larger Saigon river... which heads to the oceans.

I wish I could post pictures here easily... I have lots of them. It is everywhere in this country. It is sad.

[hazza1]

When in India I was buying a drink and asked the shopkeeper if he could throw away my old can, he literally threw it out the window.

[kalleboo]

Take a timelapse over a day and put it on YouTube. It could go viral.

[gsich]

try imgur

[NeedMoreTea]

You do know that the vast majority of First world recycling is sent to those places for "recyling", right?

That it's being chucked carelessly into a river there isn't unduly surprising, but does not mean much of it isn't "our" fault.

[BurningFrog]

This report from Columbia University Earth Institute claims it mostly goes to landfills: https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2012/01/31/what-happens-to-all...

[8note]

how does that combine with the world's trash being shipped to East Asia to be dealt with?

is it actually Asian consumers creating the waste, or is it American trash being thrown in Chinese rivers?

[brianwawok]

Very interesting if true.

So much earth day. So many recycling drives. If my entire countries is not even 1% of the waste, it seems like a total waste.

[EpicEng]

Well, I imagine a significant portion of how you get to be a 1% contributor" is via things like that. If people don't care, you end up like Vietnam (as mentioned in a sibling comment, I don't have any personal experience in that country.) You may as well ask "why are we constantly running media blitzes to get more money for breast cancer care and research? They already have plenty!"

[deegles]

That would require government regulation and unfortunately the current political climate appears to be very much against that. (apologies for bringing up politics)

[mcculley]

Why apologize? Politics is inextricably intertwined in how we address problems in our world and our communities. The admonishment to avoid talking about politics is silly, in my opinion. It only serves to keep people from solving problems.