Water Bodies
Reports suggest that pollution kills more than one million seabirds, 100,000 sea mammals, and countless fishes. Despite stringent regulation and awareness programme on the ill-effects of plastics. The water bodies are still affected.
Here is a compilation of 5 frightening studies where the water bodies were turned into plastic fishing grounds –
- A study conducted by Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) estimated that U.S. and Canada together discard around 22 million pounds of plastic into the lakes each year. This accounts for 80% of litter on the shores.
- In 2016 in a small lake in India, a team of NGO removed 4,000 liquor bottles. The lake in Coimbatore was a perfect example of treating lake as a garbage disposal point.
- In the island nation the Philippines, study suggests that more than 90% of the plastic used ends up in the ocean.
- A report by Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany, estimated that up to 90% to 95% plastic polluting the world’s oceans comes in from just ten rivers. Out of the top 10 rivers – eight are from Asia.
- As it stands today five countries in Asia (China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) alone dump as much as 80% to 90% of the world’s plastic that enters into the water bodies as per Ocean Conservancy report.
Choking wildlife, killing flora and weakening environment is what is happening across the globe. It’s time we react.
Image Source: Dimitar Dilkoff/Getty Images
