A study of how 192 coast countries handled their garbage has shown that an alarming amount goes right into the oceans — about eight million tons of it.
“Some of it tends to sink and some of it tends to float, and we are not even sure what happens to the fragments when they get below a certain size,” said Jenna Jambeck, co-author of the study.
Of the 192 countries studied, 20 are responsible for more than 80 percent of those eight million tons. China, the worst offender, sees nearly 2.5 million tons of its plastic makes it way to the sea annually. The US ranked 20th with about 750,000 pounds dumped in the ocean each year.
The report also found that if the current trends in waste disposal continue, the amount of plastic going into the ocean will double over the next decade.
Click here to watch video of Jambeck discussing the report on CBS Evening News.
