Let’s consume less plastic and help our rivers to become healthier.
Rivers deposit 2.75 million metric tonnes of plastic into the seas each year, with just ten rivers contributing up to 95% of the world’s total waste.
Of the 2.75 million metric tonnes of plastic waste deposited into the ocean by rivers each year, 1.5 million, or 55%, flows out of the Yangtze (*)
The longest river in Asia has become one of the world's most polluted, with tonnes of plastic waste threatening marine life in the East China Sea and beyond.
The Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world, with a length of more than 6,300km.
China is one of the biggest plastic consumers in the world.
In 2016, package delivery services used an estimated 14 billion plastic bags.
And with the rapid increase of food delivery options, it is estimated that 60m plastic containers are used each day - many of which cannot be recycled
According to Chen Liwen of environmental group Nature University:
“Plastic waste that has no value for recycling is either burned directly or dumped in waterways and eventually ends up in the sea. This is very common in China’s rural areas, where there is no waste management in place.”
A polluted river, not only due to plastics, industry and agriculture contribute hard also, has huge consequences in our life. The drinking water coming from rivers will be unsafe and need more chemicals to do drinkable; we will lose one of our natural sources of nutritionist, and the biodiversity will disappear.
Nearly a third of all fish species in the Yangtze are now endangered. In the 1950’s, the river was able to produce 430.000 tons of catch for fisheries each year, but now fallen by over three-quarters.
So, what we can do?
As a single person we can stop consuming plastic as much as we can by reducing and refusing them, specially the single-use plastics.
Just follow some easy steps for preparing your Zero Waste Starter Pack.
You can also join one of our #IamZeroWaste workshops coming in April.
If you want a more complete and understanding information here some links:
(*) This figure is according to a study led by Christian Schmidt, a hydrogeologist at the Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research, which was recently published in the Environmental Science & Technology journal. The study looked at data on 79 sampling sites along 57 rivers.