FACT CHECK: Does the Philippines really send the most plastic into the ocean?

Major study reveals the Philippines is the world’s largest contributor of river-borne plastic waste entering the ocean.

It sounds like another embarrassing global ranking that is almost too outrageous to believe: the Philippines supposedly sends more plastic through its rivers into the ocean than any other country.

The claim is essentially true—but with an important qualification.

A major peer-reviewed study published in Science Advances in 2021 ranked the Philippines as the world’s largest national contributor of river-borne plastic entering the ocean.

Researchers led by Lourens Meijer estimated that 4,820 Philippine rivers collectively discharge around 356,371 metric tons of plastic into the ocean annually—nearly three times India’s estimated 126,513 tons. The Philippine figure represents roughly 36% of the modeled global riverine plastic emissions.

But that does not mean 36% of all plastic currently in the world’s oceans came from the Philippines.

The study specifically estimated plastic carried by rivers into the sea. It did not cover all sources of marine plastic, such as fishing, shipping and direct coastal waste. The figures are also model estimates, not literal measurements of every piece of trash leaving Philippine waterways.

So why does the Philippines rank so high?

Geography is partly responsible. Thousands of islands, numerous short rivers, heavy rainfall and densely populated communities close to waterways make improperly discarded plastic particularly likely to reach the sea.

Then there’s the country’s dependence on disposable packaging. The World Bank has described the Philippines as a “sachet economy,” with an estimated 163 million sachets used every day. Many are made from multilayer materials that are difficult and uneconomical to recycle.

Recycling remains another weakness. A World Bank study found that only about 28% of four key plastic resins consumed in the Philippines were recycled in 2019.

There is one more caveat: the No. 1 ranking comes from a 2021 scientific model, not an annually measured permanent title. Rankings can change as researchers gather better data and refine their methods.

So does the Philippines really send the most plastic into the ocean?

According to this major peer-reviewed model, yes. More precisely, the Philippines was estimated to be the world’s largest national source of river-borne plastic entering the ocean, at around 356,000 metric tons annually.

For a country of more than 7,000 islands, it’s one No. 1 ranking nobody should be celebrating.

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