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Over 1000 rivers accountable for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean
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A new modeling study identified that over 1,000 rivers worldwide account for 80% of all plastic entering the ocean, with the highest-emitting rivers concentrated in Asia and Africa. The model highlights which geographic regions and riverine sources offer the greatest opportunity for reducing ocean plastic pollution.
Plastic waste increasingly accumulates in the marine environment, but data on the distribution and quantification of riverine sources, required for development of effective mitigation, are limited. Our new model approach includes geographical distributed data on plastic waste, landuse, wind, precipitation and rivers and calculates the probability for plastic waste to reach a river and subsequently the ocean. This probabilistic approach highlights regions which are likely to emit plastic into the ocean. We calibrated our model using recent field observations and show that emissions are distributed over up to two orders of magnitude more rivers than previously thought. We estimate that over 1,000 rivers are accountable for 80% of global annual emissions which range between 0.8 – 2.7 million metric tons per year, with small urban rivers amongst the most polluting. This high-resolution data allows for focused development of mitigation strategies and technologies to reduce riverine plastic emissions.
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More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean
AI summary Read the abstract
Researchers developed a model to estimate global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean and found that more than 1,000 rivers account for 80% of emissions, rather than just a handful of large rivers as previously assumed. The study suggests that plastic pollution is geographically distributed across many smaller river systems worldwide, which has important implications for developing targeted mitigation strategies.
River plastic emissions to the world’s oceans
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Researchers built a global model to estimate how much plastic waste enters the ocean from rivers, combining data on waste management, population density, and water flow patterns. They estimated that rivers deliver between 1.15 and 2.41 million tonnes of plastic to the oceans annually, with over 74% of emissions occurring between May and October. The top 20 polluting rivers, mostly in Asia, accounted for 67% of the global total, providing key data for targeting cleanup and prevention efforts.
The MARINA-Plastic model: Global river export of macro- and microplastics from over 10,000 sub-basins to coastal seas
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Researchers developed the MARINA-Plastic model to estimate macro- and microplastic export from over 10,000 river sub-basins worldwide to coastal seas, finding that a small number of rivers in Asia and Africa account for the majority of global plastic inputs to the ocean. The spatially explicit model helps identify where plastic pollution reduction efforts will have the greatest impact.
Export of Plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea
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Researchers estimated the export of plastic debris from rivers into the sea, finding that a relatively small number of large rivers — mostly in Asia — account for the majority of riverine plastic inputs to the ocean.
River export of macro- and microplastics to seas by sources worldwide
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