Brazil has 600 major 'gateways' for plastic pollution, shows study by the UN Global Compact

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But before reaching the seas, plastic waste without proper disposal travels along land routes through rivers: annually, no less than 2,3 million tons of the material, or 67% of all plastic that can reach the seas, may come from high-risk watersheds. The criticisms are those of the Amazon rivers (around 160 thousand tons/year), São Francisco (230 thousand tons/year) and Guanabara Bay (216 thousand tons/year).

A plastic pollution Nor does it respect borders. The Rio de la Plata, which reaches the sea between Argentina and Uruguay, can contribute more than 1 million tons of Brazilian plastic waste per year.

Only in Brazil, second survey of the Blue Keepers, each person produces an average of 16kg of plastic waste that ends up in the seas every year. It is estimated that 3,44 million tons of plastic waste are likely to escape into the natural environment across the country.

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