World pumping out 57 million tons of plastic pollution yearly

Two-thirds come from Global South due to lack of proper waste collection

- SETH BORENSTEIN

The world creates 57 million tons of plastic pollution every year and spreads it from the deepest oceans to the highest mountaintop to the inside of people's bodies, according to a new study that also said more than two-thirds of it comes from the Global South.

It's enough pollution each year about 52 million metric tons - to fill New York City's Central Park with plastic waste as high as the Empire State Building, according to researchers at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.

They examined waste produced on the local level at more than 50,000 cities and towns across the world for a study in Wednesday's journal Nature.