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May 3: Most of ocean plastics come from 10 rivers

Re: “Bag ban is more about a gesture,” letter, April 28. As with the so-called climate-change emergency, anything Canada can do is just a gesture.

Re: “Bag ban is more about a gesture,” letter, April 28.

As with the so-called climate-change emergency, anything Canada can do is just a gesture.

It is interesting to note that 90 to 95 per cent of the plastic waste that finds its way into the world’s oceans is deposited in it by 10 rivers: the Yangtze, Yellow, Hai, Pearl, Amur, Mekong, Indus and Ganges in Asia, and the Niger and the Nile in Africa. These rivers flow through densely populated countries with little or no infrastructure to deal with garbage collection. Consequently, it is convenient to dump garbage of all sorts into flowing rivers that pour it into the ocean.

Kudos to the gentleman in Nanaimo for picking up refuse so callously dumped on the wayside by irresponsible members of our “enlightened society.”

Bev Highton

Oak Bay