Plastic pollution crisis: AI research reveals world's top offenders

Scientists from the British University of Leeds have undertaken quite a challenge. They investigated how waste management processes operate in 50,000 towns and cities worldwide. They utilized artificial intelligence for their research, allowing them to identify the countries responsible for generating the most pollution.

The researchers vividly present the study results obtained through artificial intelligence algorithms. By utilizing AI, they were able to examine over 50,000 towns and cities worldwide to determine how waste management processes function in each location.

Findings indicate that approximately 57 million tonnes of waste and pollution from plastic are produced on Earth each year. Arranged in a straight line, all this waste would circle the Earth 1,500 times, according to Science Blog.

– This is an urgent and global human health issue. The ongoing crisis, meaning people whose waste is not collected, have no choice but to discard or burn it – alerts Dr. Costas Velis, who participated in the research.

Scientists explain that one of their most concerning findings is that nearly 70 percent of the world's plastic pollution comes from uncollected trash. According to researchers, nearly 1.2 billion people, or approximately 15 percent of the world's population, do not have access to basic waste collection services.

Difficulty in waste collection has tragic consequences for the environment, as it usually leads to the burning of pollutants. Studies also suggest that focusing on combating burning and uncollected waste can significantly improve the quality of life for billions of people.

This is because the aforementioned burning of waste poses serious health risks. Experts mainly point to neurological and reproductive disorders. All of these can originate from uncontrolled burning of plastic waste.

So who is most responsible for polluting the planet, based on what scientists have determined through AI? The biggest global plastic pollution culprit is India. Following India in this ignoble category are Nigeria (in second place) and Indonesia (third place). Science Blog notes that this is a change from previous models, which identified China as the main source of pollution.