Data from the Panorama of Solid Waste in Brazil 2022 show that the generation of plastic waste in Brazilian cities was 13.7 million tons in 2022, or 64 kilograms per person in the year. The publication, released today (21), is prepared by the Brazilian Association of Public Cleaning and Special Waste Companies (Abrelpe).
According to the survey, plastic waste is the type of pollutant most found in water bodies on the planet: it corresponds to 48.5% of the materials that leak into the seas. “The most recent data show that around 22 million tons of plastics leak into the environment every year around the world, and a considerable part of these materials have the oceans as a destination”, highlights the president of Abrelpe and president of International Solid Waste Association, Carlos Silva Filho.
In Brazil, according to Abrelpe, more than 3 million tons of solid waste end up in rivers and seas every year, enough to cover more than 7,000 soccer fields. “The best solution to the problem of garbage in the sea lies precisely in the improvement of urban cleaning systems and infrastructure in cities, which must occur with permanent programs of environmental education implemented in all layers of the population”, says Silva Filho.
According to Abrelpe, about 80% of the total waste found in the seas comes from human activities carried out on the continent, either on the coast or in regions where rivers flow that flow into marine environments.
