A study published in the journal Science Advances has revealed that the United States ranks in the top three countries contributing to coastal plastic pollution. This includes scrap plastic exports and the latest figures on illegal dumping and littering in the country. The new research challenges the once-held assumption that the United States is adequately “managing” — that is, collecting and properly landfilling, recycling, or otherwise containing — its plastic waste. Plastic waste management and recycling are a lie.