I believe the paper that lead to all of those articles blaming the plastics in the ocean on Asian rivers was one that was specifically looking looking at plasti

I believe the paper that lead to all of those articles blaming the plastics in the ocean on Asian rivers was one that was specifically looking looking at plastics carried by major river systems [1]. This was to complement a previous study on plastics from coastal strips [2]. The large Asian river systems have catchment areas that hold billions of people between them and would carry a substantial proportion of the worlds riverine pollution even if all other things were equal. The microplastics in the environment in the first world come from first world activities, including littering and driving (and hence producing car tyre fragments). Low and middle income countries need better public services - including waste and waste water management - and enforcement of environmental laws. High income countries need less waste and enforcement of environmental laws. [1] https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15611.pdf https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15611.pdf [2] https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768.full https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/768.full https://jambeck.engr.uga.edu/landplasticinput https://jambeck.engr.uga.edu/landplasticinput "There is one high income country on the list, the United States, and while our waste management systems are well-designed and very effective, and the only mismanaged waste is from litter, we have a large coastal population and a large waste generation rate."