The United States, the world’s largest producer of plastic waste …

In total, the United States produced about 42 million tons of plastic waste in 2016. This is twice the amount of China and more than the EU countries Analysis of American National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine. However, less than 5 percent of the world’s population lives in the United States.

Each American produces an average of 130 kg of plastic waste per year, second only to the United Kingdom with 98 kg per person per year. In France the average is 43 kg.

Each year, at least 8.8 million tons of plastic waste is dumped into the sea worldwide, equivalent to one truckload of garbage being dumped into the ocean every minute, the report says.

At current rates, the amount of plastic dumped into the ocean will reach 53 million tons per year by 2030, which is about half the total weight of fish caught in the ocean each year.