What happened: United States of America contributes nearly 42 million tonnes of plastic waste, becoming the most significant contributor to global plastic waste. The 42 million metric tonnes of plastic waste by the US is twice as much as China and more than the European Union countries. Reports suggest that every American generates 130 kgs of plastic waste each year. Subsequently, marine life has been the most prominent one affected by plastic waste.
Details: The current rate at which the US is generating plastic waste could rise to 53 million metric tonnes by the end of 2030. One of the science officers and an author, Margaret Spring, had said, “The success of the 20th-century miracle invention of plastics has also produced a global scale deluge of plastic waste seemingly everywhere we look.” However, the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act was titled “Reckoning with the US Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste.” This report revealed the damages caused by US’s plastic waste to marine and general life.