There's a massive amount of plastic trash in the sea – mostly from China

A study found that some 4.8 to 12.7mil tonnes of plastic ended up in the world's oceans in 2010. Much of it came from Asian countries, including China and Malaysia. Photo: Filepic

Our discards are turning oceans into a plastic soup.

The first worldwide estimate of where the ocean’s massive amount of plastic garbage comes from points at China and developing economies in Asia. The study, published online in the journal Science, estimates that China’s heavily coastal population contributes 1.3 million to 3.5 million tonnes of plastic to the world’s oceans each year, largely due to mismanaged waste.