8 Countries that Export the Most Plastic in the World

As of 2006, the United States produced around 236 million tons of waste annually. In 2007, the United States produced 254 million tons of garbage. Alarmingly, the average American throws away nearly 7 pounds of trash on a daily basis, according to PlanetThoughts. The U.S. consumes 30 percent of the world's resources despite making up only 5 percent of the world's population. It also produces 30 percent of the world's waste. Insidermonkey experts made a list of countries that export the most plastic in the world.

In only a year, Americans throw away around 26,800,000 tons of food, 8,550,000 tons of furniture and furnishings, 6,330,000 tons of clothing and footwear, and tons of other waste. Food, furniture and furnishings, and clothing and footwear are discarded the most. Unfortunately, 80 percent of all products that are produced in the United States are used only once and then discarded, and 95 percent of plastic and 50 percent of all of the aluminum beverage cans that are thrown away never get recycled. You can also check our list of Countries that Produce the Most Paper in the World.