Ocean discharges of COVID-19-related plastic waste, by major river
An estimated 26,000 tons of mismanaged plastic waste associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has been leaked to the ocean. Of this total, approximately 5,200 tons was discharged by the Shatt al-Arab river in Iraq. The Yangtze river was also a major source of marine pollution, having carried almost 4,000 tons of pandemic-related waste to the ocean. Many of the most polluting rivers are in Asia, which accounts for 81 percent of global plastics waste emitted to the ocean.
