South China Sea

Covering a distance of nearly 5,000 km from its source on the Tibetan Plateau in China to the Mekong Delta, the river flows through six countries: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Viet Nam.

impacts, such as diminished river-bank agricultural and fishing opportunities. High exposure to severe storms, large populations living in low-lying areas, and relatively low adaptive capacity of institutions make Greater Mekong countries extremely vulnerable to climate change.

A confluence of drought and dams along the Mekong River has renewed concerns about the future of the 4,700-kilometer waterway. Laos’ Don Sahong, the newest of dozens of Mekong dam projects, began generating electricity close to the Laos-Cambodia border in November. …

Two main risks include the obstruction of the estimated 600 migratory fish species that swim to their spawning ground and the trapping of sediment by dams upstream that prohibits the replenishment of the delta’s nutrients.

Low water levels in the Tonle Sap in June 2019. The Mekong is reeling from the combined onslaught of climate change, sand-mining, and incessant damming of the river, which combined to help cause the worst drought recorded in over 100 years in July.

The Mekong is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, transporting an estimated 40 thousand tonnes of plastic into the world’s oceans each year.

The research shows that the Chang Jiang or Yangtze River is the worst culprit, responsible for 1.47 million tonnes of plastic pollution reaching oceans each year.

In fact, the top six countries for ocean garbage are China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Thailand, according to a 2015 study in the journal Science. The United States contributes as much as 242 million pounds of plastic trash to the ocean every year, according to that study.

Let’s take a look at the ten most polluted rivers in the world.

• Marilao River, Philippines.
• Yellow River, China.
• Jordan River, Israel.
• River Yamuna, India.
• Buriganga River, Bangladesh.
• Matanza-Riachuelo River, Argentina.
• Ganges River, India.
• Citarum River, Indonesia.

The US

Baltic Sea

Turkey generates about 5.6 billion tons of plastic waste per year. The average use of plastic bags in Turkey is 440 per person per year. As of January 1, 2019, the country banned single-use plastic bags and transitioned to reusable and paper bags in an effort to reduce plastic pollution.

Canada

China

A team of researchers in the United States and Australia led by Jenna Jambeck, an environmental engineer at the University of Georgia, analyzed plastic waste levels in the world’s oceans. They found that China and Indonesia are the top sources of plastic bottles, bags and other rubbish clogging up global sea lanes.

This may not sound like much, but it can add up. At this rate of consumption, in a decade, we could be eating 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) in plastic, the equivalent of over two sizable pieces of plastic pipe. And over a lifetime, we consume about 20 kg (44 lb) of microplastic.

Coca Cola, Pepsico and Nestle are named the most polluting companies in the world, for the third time in a row. In fact, the amount of plastic waste generated by Coca Cola, 13,834 pieces across 51 countries, was more than the waste collected by Pepsico and Nestle combined.

Global emitters (1988 to 2015)

In December 2020, following global clean ups and brand audits, Coca-Cola was named the world’s worst plastic polluter for the third year in a row.

Over 5,000 brands were cataloged this year, but Coca-Cola quickly emerged as the world’s number one plastic polluter. Its beverage bottles were found most frequently, discarded on beaches, rivers, parks and other litter sites in 51 of the 55 nations surveyed, The Guardian reported.