The Pacific coast of Central America is the most affected by plastic bottles.

Barcelona (Spain), July 24 (EFE).- The Latin American countries on the Pacific coast most affected by plastic bottle pollution are those in Central America, according to an international study led by the University of Barcelona (UB), in northeastern Spain.

Along more than 12,000 kilometers of Pacific coastline, from Mexico to Chile—including islands such as Rapa Nui (Easter Island), the Galapagos Islands, and Robinson Crusoe—researchers analyzed a total of 92 continental beaches, 15 island beaches, and 38 human settlements.

The work, published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, covered Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, according to the UB.

Locally sourced plastics

The study was made possible thanks to the involvement and collaboration of a thousand volunteers and dozens of social organizations, who collected the waste, which was then analyzed to determine the quantity, type, and origin of the plastic packaging.

The analysis determined that the countries most affected by plastic bottles are those in Central America, likely due to the high consumption of beverages in plastic containers, poor waste management, and ocean current transport, according to the researchers.

Many of the plastic bottles and caps polluting the Pacific coasts of Latin American countries are of local and domestic origin.

Strengthening local waste management

Thus, the study's authors warn of the urgent need to strengthen local waste management and implement regional-level actions to reduce the environmental impact of these products.

The collection found bottles from 356 brands belonging to 253 companies, including giants The Coca-Cola Company, Aje Group, and PepsiCo, according to the study.

On the coasts of oceanic islands, bottles of Asian origin are more abundant, probably dumped from boats and carried by currents.

53% of the beverage bottles and caps collected had visible dates, while 59% of the items with identifiable origin came from countries within the Latin American Pacific region.

The oldest objects were a 2001 Powerade bottle collected on a mainland Peruvian beach, and a 2002 Coca-Cola bottle found on a Chilean island.