Use this form if you have come across a typo, inaccuracy or would like to send an edit request for the content on this page. The recycling industry creates more jobs than the solid waste management industry. According to the plastics industry, in Europe plastic production reached 61.8 million tons in 2018. This was 18.5percent of all MSW landfilled. Less than 10 percent of the plastic. Much of the growth in plastic production has been the increased use of plastic packaging, which accounts for more than 40 percent of non-fiber plastic. The correct figure is 9%. Beverage manufacturers alone produce more than 500 billion single-use plastic bottles every year. The mass production of plastics, which began just six decades ago, has accelerated at such a rapid rate that it has created 8.3 billion metric tons, most of the disposable products that end up as waste. Or phasing them out.. . Plastic takes more than 400 years to degrade, so most of it still exists in some form. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy How much plastic is currently recycled 2020? In 2018, Lithuania recycled the most plastic packaging waste (at a rate of 69.3%). . The rapid acceleration of plastic manufacturing, which so far has doubled roughly every 15 years, has outpaced nearly every other man-made material. The Plastic . Recycling Center Near Me Recycle How much plastic is actually recycled? Can my recycling end up in landfill? Sorry. "As the most populated nation with the largest GDP in the African continent, Nigeria's plastic waste problem is on the increase, this is based on its increased consumption from 578,000 tonnes . In 2017, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) dominated the recycled plastics market, accounting for 55 percent of the global market share. The U.S. Market is Estimated at $3.1 Billion in 2021, While China is Forecast to Reach $17.6 Billion by 2026. In summary, it's estimated that in 2015, around 55 percent of global plastic waste was discarded, 25 percent was incinerated, and 20 percent was recycled. Phys.org is a part of Science X network. In 1950, we created 2 million tons a year, which increased 200-fold by 2015. You cant manage what you dont measure, he says. World must work together to tackle plastic ocean threat: WWF, An international treaty to curb plastic pollution risks being watered down. The primary data source on the generation of plastics is the American Chemistry Council. Less than 10 percent of the plastic used across the world is recycled, the OECD said Tuesday, calling for "coordinated and global solutions" ahead of expected talks on an international treaty . As a valuable and finite resource, the optimum recovery route for most plastic items at the 'end-of-li . Globally only 9% of plastic gets recycled. The correct figure is 9%. Some plastics intended for recycling end up in landfill. This web page contains material-specific information and data on plastics. For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. Only 22% of municipal plastic waste is recycled and 31% of manufacturing plastic waste is recycled - all stakeholders in the plastics value chain have opportunities to benefit from increased recycle rates. Now we have a situation where we have to come from behind to catch up.. According to the EPA, 8.7% of plastic material generated in the U.S. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) stream was recycled in 2018. The data below are from 1960 to 2018, relating to the total number of tons of plastics generated, recycled, composted, combusted with energy recovery and landfilled. How much plastic is produced globally? For general feedback, use the public comments section below (please adhere to guidelines). In 2018, the rate of paper and paperboard recycling was 68.2 percent (46.0 million . Biology, Chemistry, Conservation, Earth Science, Oceanography. The study was launched two years ago as scientists tried to get a handle on the gargantuan amount of plastic that ends up in the seas and the harm it is causing tobirds, marine animals, and fish. The amount of plastic waste had more than doubled during that time to 353 million tonnes, the Paris-based OECD said. but less than 4.9 lt. or kg. Check out our Frequent Questions page. Polypropylene (PP): Household appliances, garden furniture, vehicle components, etc. The facts also report that plastic bags and ocean plastic are still significant global challenges in recycling. A dash in the table means that data is not available. Science X Daily and the Weekly Email Newsletters are free features that allow you to receive your favourite sci-tech news updates. Even the scientists who set out to conduct the worlds first tally of how much plastic has been produced, discarded, burned or put in landfills, were horrified by the sheer size of the numbers. All rights reserved. Total plastic production in 2015 reached 380 million tons. The report, which analyzed waste processing data at the country's 367 material recovery facilities, found that only PET #1 and HDPE #2 plastic bottles and jugs are being recycled with regularity. About 75% of global plastics produced are thermoplastics that can be melted and molded . This means the remaining high percentage ended up in the environment. Gaining control of plastic waste is now such a large task that it calls for a comprehensive, global approach, Jambeck says, that involves rethinking plastic chemistry, product design, recycling strategies, and consumer use. Nearly half of all plastic waste is generated in OECD countries, according to the report. "After taking into account losses during recycling, only nine percent of plastic waste was ultimately recycled, while 19 percent was incinerated and almost 50 percent went to sanitary landfills," it said in its Global Plastics Outlook. Less than 10 percent of the plastic used across the world is recycled, the OECD said Tuesday, calling for "coordinated and global solutions" ahead of expected talks on an international plastics treaty. It also called for "major investments in basic waste management infrastructure", including 25 billion euros ($28 billion) a year to go towards efforts in low and middle-income countries. 2028-29 and onwards. EPA does not include plastics in transportation products, other than lead-acid batteries, in this analysis. The study estimates that of the plastic recycled to date, only 10 percent has been recycled more than once. Of that, only nine percent has been recycled. About 68% of paper and paperboard was recycled in 2018. . [2] Humans use about 1.2 million plastic bottles per minute in total. This kind of increase would break any system that was not prepared for it, and this is why we have seen leakage from global waste systems into the oceans, she says. 2.2 Global recycling rates 3 Recycling Plastic and the Waste Hierarchy 4 Frequently Asked . Europe saw little more than a third of plastics collected recycled in 2020. We often simply throw plastics away into the recycling bin, however, due to the material properties of plastics, not all can be recycled. I would like to subscribe to Science X Newsletter. "After taking into account losses during recycling, only nine percent of plastic waste was ultimately recycled, while 19% was incinerated and almost 50% went to sanitary landfills," it said in its Global Plastics Outlook. Note: Only nine percent of plastic recycled worldwide: OECD. Most plastics are used in the manufacture of packaging, i.e. The action plan is presented in "The New Plastics Economy: Catalysing Action", a . If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media. produces 19.4 percent of global plastic.21 The Middle East and Africa (7.3 percent) and Central and South America (4.8 percent) have the smallest global shares of production.22 Packaging is responsible for the majority of plastic use, representing 40 percent of demand in Europe and 42 percent in the United States.23 (See Figure 2.) We're willing to bet that the cardboard boxes recycled during the pandemic alone might exceed that amount, though the data is not yet available. estimated that around 14 percent of plastic packaging globally is collected for recycling, however the costs of sorting and reprocessing mean that only 5 percent of material . To date, about 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been manufactured since its production began around 1950, which is equivalent to the weight of about one billion elephants. We all knew that there had been a rapid and extreme increase in plastic production from 1950 to now, but to quantify the cumulative number of all the plastic that has been manufactured was quite astonishing, explains Jenna Jambeck, an environmental engineer at the University of Georgia who specializes in the study of plastic waste in the oceans. The 2017 study in Science Advances that estimated 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic has been produced notes that recycling only delays the final disposal of an item, but . Plastic waste generated annually per person ranges from 221 kg in the United States and 114 kg in European OECD countries to 69 kg, on average, for Japan and Korea. [3] Roughly half of our global annual plastic production is destined for a single-use product. Asia is the worlds largest producing region, accounting for half of the worlds production (51% of the total). Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019. A recent. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. These single-use plastic products are everywhere. The study found that in 2021, out of 51 million tons of plastic waste generated by U.S. households, only 2.4 million tons were recycled, or about 5 percent. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Recycling helps prevent the manufacture of goods from virgin materials, which further results in less carbon dioxide emissions and the protection of finite resources. If that seems like an incomprehensible quantity, it is. Correction (March 12th 2018): The headline of this piece previously stated that only 7% of the world's plastic is recycled. Approximately 91% of plastic is not recycled. Spain is the fourth country in the European Union with the highest demand for plastics, where up to 50% of plastics ended up in landfills in 2016. Plastics are found in nondurable products, such as disposable diapers, trash bags, cups, utensils, medical devices and household itemssuch as shower curtains. Recycling in the U.S. has remained at nine percent since 2012. We as a society need to consider whether its worth trading off some convenience for a clean, healthy environment, Geyer says. That is the equivalent to five grocery bags of plastic trash for every foot of coastline around the globe. Please click here to see any active alerts. Less than 10 percent of the plastic used across the world is recycled, the OECD said Tuesday, calling for "coordinated and global solutions" ahead of expected talks on an international plastics . Another 15.8% was combusted for energy, while 75.6% was sent to landfills. Originally published by natgeo.com on December 20, 2018. Dirty Business: what really happens to your recycling Watch on In 2016, only about 16 percent of plastic waste was collected for recycling globally. Half of all steel produced, for example, is used in construction, with a decades-long lifespan. Furthermore, the United States also composted 27 million tons of MSW in the same year. Please, allow us to send you push notifications with new Alerts. Credit the globalisation and randomness of football, Our model estimates how many, and how much that will cost, So far, 322 deaths have been recorded at demonstrations, Published since September 1843 to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress.. On the other hand, developing economies with a minimal industrial base have recycling rates close to 0%. Because it is cheaper and less complicated to develop new plastic instead of recycling it, TheAmerican Chemistry Councilestimated that in 2018, less than10 percent of American plastic was recycled. The report comes less than a week before the UN Environment Assembly begins on February 28 in Nairobi, where formal talks are expected to begin on a future international plastics treaty, the scope of which will be discussed. If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. Furthermore, every year, Americans use more than 102.1 billion plastic shopping bags, while just 9.1% of the country's MSW is recycled. China is the leading plastics producer with 30% of the total in 2018, followed by North America (NAFTA) with 18%. This was 16.3percent of all MSW combusted with energy recovery that year. What percentage of the total e-waste is recycled globally? Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. in single-use products. If present trends continue, by 2050, there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic in landfills. Scenario 2: This scenario is derived from Ellen MacArthur Foundation New Plastics Economy report projections that by 2050, 53 percent of plastics can be recycled. China, the world`s second largest economy, is forecast to reach a projected market size of . Of the 8.3 billion metric tons that has been produced, 6.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste. An official website of the United States government. Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019, the report said. While plastics are found in all major MSW categories, the containers and packaging category had the most plastic tonnage at over 14.5million tons in 2018. When you reach out to him or her, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource. Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. Most plastic pollution comes from improper collection and disposal of the larger plastic wastes known as microplastics, but the leakage of microplastics such as industrial plastic pellets, synthetic textiles, and tire wear is also a serious problem. While overall the amount of recycled plastics is relatively smallthree million tons for a 8.7 percent recycling rate in 2018the recycling of some specific types of plastic containers is more significant. Manufacturers also use plastic in durable goods, such as appliances, furniture, casings of lead-acid batteries and other products. For more comprehensive information, refer to the 2018Data Tables on the Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures Report page. The vast majority79 percentis accumulating in landfills or sloughing off in the natural environment as litter. In summary, it's estimated that in 2015, around 55 percent of global plastic waste was discarded, 25 percent was incinerated, and 20 percent was recycled. Germany, Sweden and Norway had the best performances at around 40 percent, while France had only 24 percent, the OECD report found. 50% ends up in landfill, 19% is incinerated, and 22% goes into uncontrolled dumpsites . In addition, the country has had incinerators . The level of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production, use and disposal of conventional fossil fuel-based plastics is forecast to grow to 19 per cent of the global carbon budget by 2040. "After taking into account losses during recycling, only nine percent of plastic waste was ultimately recycled, while 19 percent was incinerated and almost 50 percent went to sanitary landfills," it said in its Global Plastics Outlook. Meaning: at some point, much of it ends up in the oceans, the final sink. The Covid-19 pandemic saw the use of plastics drop by 2.2 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year. Copyright The Economist Newspaper Limited 2022. 11-Oct-2022 1:05 PM EDT , by Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences. Production of recycled plastics increases to 49.01 million metric tons (25 percent of the addressable market). Around 80 percent of all plastics ever produced have not been properly recycled, and yet global plastic use and waste are projected to nearly triple by 2060, with plastic pollution doubling, according to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development figures cited by Greenpeace. With global reach of over 5 million monthly readers and featuring dedicated websites for hard sciences, technology, smedical research and health news, The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. Ahead of United Nations talks on international action to reduce plastic waste, the OECDs first Global Plastics Outlook highlights that as rising populations and incomes drive a relentless increase in the amount of plastic being used and discarded, policies to curb its leakage into the environment are proving insufficient. Much of this drop off has to do with the fact that China stopped accepting American plastic refuse in 2018. If you have questions about licensing content on this page, please contact ngimagecollection@natgeo.com for more information and to obtain a license. That research, published in 2015, estimated that8 million metric tons of plastic ends up in the oceans every year. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC): Pipes and fittings, valves, windows, etc. A report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that only 9% of the global plastic waste is recycled whereas 22% of it is mishandled. Nearly all types of plastics can be recycled, however the extent to which they are recycled depends upon technical, economic and logistic factors. Consumer and . The plastic food service items are generally made of clear or foamed polystyrene, while trash bags are made of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) or low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The new study, published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, is the first global analysis of all plastics ever madeand their . Of the 9% of America's plastic that the Environmental Protection Agency estimated was recycled in 2015, China and Hong Kong handled more than half: about 1.6m tons of our plastic recycling every . Graphic showing what. 1996 - 2022 National Geographic Society. Newswise Washington D.C. - While less than 10 percent of plastics are recycled globally, new . 2027-28. Recycled HDPE finds use in manufacturing toys, pipes, ropes, and bins. [6] Additionally, 12% was incinerated and the remaining 79% disposed of to landfill or to the environment including the sea. Only 14% of the world's plastic waste is recycled. If this seems like an incomprehensible amount, that's because it is. In 2015, an estimated 55 percent of global plastic waste was discarded, 25 percent was incinerated, and 20 percent recycled. PepsiCo declined to share a percentage, saying only that it grew to 139 million pounds in 2015. The recycling rate of PET bottles and jars was 29.1 percent in 2018, and the rate for HDPE natural bottles was 29.3percent in 2018. Industry Backs Plan to Recycle 70 Percent of Plastic Packaging Waste Globally. The vast majority79 percentis accumulating in landfills or sloughing off in the natural environment as litter. On top of that, it is estimated that over . Plastics #3 through #7, while collected by municipal recycling programs, most often are "being sent to landfills or incinerated.". For the OECD, after taking into account losses during recycling, only nine percent of plastic waste was ultimately recycled globally. Plastic resins are also used in a variety of container and packaging products, such as PET beverage bottles, HDPE bottles for milk and water, and a wide variety of other resin types used in other plastic containers, bags, sacks, wraps and lids. Specifically in Europe the demand for plastics for packaging was 39.9% in 2016. Growth in the market is expected due to population. The company currently recycles about 160,000 tons per year of plastic, with facilities in the Netherlands and Kosovo. Science X Daily and the Weekly Email Newsletter are free features that allow you to receive your favorite sci-tech news updates in your email inbox, Phys.org 2003 - 2022 powered by Science X Network. What percentage of waste is recycled? Bulgaria had the second-highest plastic packaging waste rate (59.2%), and the Czech Republic had the third highest recycling rate at 57%. Only 9 per cent of the total plastic waste in the world is recycled. Global plastic production by type, 2020 IEA projections of global plastic production in 2020, by type of plastic. How Instagram facilitated the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Layered feedback mechanisms add control to engineered cells. This category includes bags, sacks and wraps; other packaging; polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and jars; high-density polyethylene (HDPE) natural bottles; and other containers. Ninety-one percent of the plastic we manufacture is not recycled The mass production of plastics, which began just six decades ago, has accelerated at such a rapid rate that it has created 8.3 billion metric tons, most of the disposable products that end up as waste. Only 9% of plastic waste is recycled: OECD report. Kras Recycling, also based in the Netherlands, has concentrated on expanding mechanical plastic recycling capacity in Europe, according to Ben Kras, the family firm's CEO. If we extrapolate historical trends through to 2050 as can be seen in the chart here by 2050, incineration rates would increase to 50 percent; recycling to 44 percent; and discarded waste would fall to 6 percent. #2- Dry recyclables (plastic, paper and cardboard, metal, and glass) amount to 38 percent of global waste 1. The EPA estimates that 68 percent of all paper and cardboard recycling actually winds up being recycled every year. The amount of plastic waste has also more than doubled during that same time to 353 million metric tons, the Paris-based OECD said. Less than 10 percent of the plastic used across the world is recycled, the OECD said Tuesday, calling for "coordinated and global solutions" ahead of expected talks on an international treaty on . United States Recycling Statistics Here, we'll be discussing recycling in the US. While overall the amount of recycled plastics is relatively smallthree million tons for a 8.7 percent recycling rate in 2018the recycling of some specific types of plastic containers is more significant. Low margins and shortages of good quality raw material supply are key issues in China's plastic waste recycling industry. Since the beginning of plastic production in the 20th century, until 2015, the world has produced some 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste, only 9% of which has been recycled, and only ~1% has been recycled more than once. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. In a survey published Tuesday by polling firm Ipsos for the World Wildlife Fund, 88 percent of respondents stressed the importance of an international treaty to combat plastic pollution. A recent Greenpeace USA report about the state of plastic recycling in the United States shocked many residents. This web page is a brief summary of plastic materials-specific data. "After taking into account losses during recycling, only 9%. Of the plastic waste produced between 1950 and 2015, only 9 percent was recycled. How many plastic are actually recycled? Your feedback is important to us. $3.2 billion to acquire SodaStream and expressed a commitment to a circular economy for plastics by joining the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. Only nine percent of plastic recycled worldwide: OECD Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019, the report said. It could all have been dumped in a landfill 70 metres deep and 57 square kilometres in arearoughly the size of Manhattanif only it had remained on land. 45. Graphic showing what proportion of plastic waste is recycled, incinerated, landfilled or dumped into the environment. How many times can a plastic bottle be recycled? For general inquiries, please use our contact form. The second, 91% of all plastic is not recycled. Its not just that we make a lot, its that we also make more, year after year.. This results in about $80-120 billion losses per year. The company says reuse is critical to meeting its goals to reduce virgin plastic . Read through the productsand at the other materials we studied. On the other hand, the recycling figure for packaging (household, commercial and industrial) that the Ministry for Ecological Transition (Miteco) sends to Europe would be 70%, but if only plastic packaging is taken into account, this recycling figure would be 45%. Some are the product of larger pieces breaking apart; others, like microbeads added to toothpaste or face scrubs, were designed to be tiny. WWF-Philippines, 2021. Some of the major challenges include inadequacy of waste facilities due to constraints in funding and manpower, and the poorly implemented regulations for the recyclables market. Europe has moved into third place in plastics production with 17% of the total in 2018. "The remaining 22 percent was disposed of in uncontrolled dumpsites, burned in open pits or leaked into the environment.". Flow of plastic materials in the Philippines. That is the result of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) first Global Plastics Outlook, which was published earlier this year.. To be precise 15% of plastic waste is collected for recycling but 40% of that is disposed of as residues. The new study, published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, is the first global analysis of all plastics ever madeand their fate. Neither your address nor the recipient's address will be used for any other purpose. About 91% of plastic isn't recycled, but why? What kind of plastic bags can be recycled at Walmart? as the case may be If present trends continue, by 2050, there will be 12 billion metric tons of plastic in landfills. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. National Geographic Headquarters 1145 17th Street NW Washington, DC 20036, National Geographic Society is a 501 (c)(3) organization. JavaScript appears to be disabled on this computer. Americans are recycling far less plastic, according to an analysis published Wednesday, with rates falling below 6 percent in 2021. You cant manage what you dont measure. #3- More than one-third of waste in high-income countries is recovered . 3 " How plastics waste recycling could transform the chemical industry ," McKinsey, December 12, 2018. The recycling rate of PET bottles and jars was 29.1 percent in 2018, and the rate for HDPE natural bottles was 29.3 percent in 2018. There's a vast amount of plastics produced each year, but only 14% of it goes to the recycling facilities. And yet the UK is a successful recycling nation: 45.7% of all household waste is classed as recycled (although that number indicates only that it is sent for recycling, not where it ends up. A wide variety of other resins are used in other nondurable goods. The total amount of plastics combusted in MSW in 2018 was 5.6 million tons. Switzerland's position as a contemporary pioneer of recycling in the world also has to do with the facilities and benefits of this practice within the country itself. And, it is unlike virtually every other material. In 2018, the recycling rate of generated packaging and containers was 53.9%. Plastic recycling results in significant energy savings compared with the production of new plastics using virgin material. Billions of tons of plastic have been made of the past decades, and much of it is becoming trash and litter, finds the first analysist of the issue. Another 19% is incinerated, 50% ends up in landfill and 22% evades waste management systems and goes into uncontrolled dumpsites, is burned in open pits or ends up in terrestrial or aquatic environments, especially in poorer countries. [4] Asked about the priorities of the treaty to be discussed in Nairobi, she said that "there is an urgent waste management problem which is responsible for the bulk of the leakage to the environment". and Terms of Use. Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste and Recycling, Advancing Sustainable Materials Management: Facts and Figures Report page. Only 9% of plastic waste is recycled (15% is collected for recycling but 40% of that is disposed of as residues). 1 The US has recycled about 67.2 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) compared to 267.8 million tons of MSW generated in 2017. Globally to date, there is about 8.3 billion tons of plastic in the world - some 6.3 billion tons of that is trash. These include a meticulous sorting of containers, which allows 93% of glass, 91% of cans and 83% of plastic bottles to be recycled. About 39% of materials recycled by Singapore come from demolition, construction, and industrial industries. On the one hand, developed economies with regulations that encourage it have recycling rates around 30%. You cannot download interactives. In the face of rampant global warming and pollution, it is "crucial that countries respond to the challenge with coordinated and global solutions", OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said in the report. Official websites use .gov Of that, only nine percent has been recycled. IN A paper published last year in Science Advances, Roland Geyer of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his colleagues put the cumulative amount of solid plastic waste produced since the 1950s that has not been burned or recycled at 4.9bn tonnes. For some products that are very problematic in the environment, maybe we think about using different materials. The new . Increasing that amount would require changes in consumer behavior, the building out of infrastructure, and investments in recycling capacity. In 2018, about 146.1 million tons of MSW were landfilled. Approximately 3 million tons of glass containers were recycled in the US in 2017. Meaning: at some point, much of it ends up in the oceans, the final sink. "We're about to double capacity" in Kosovo, said . There are many types of plastics, although the market is dominated by four main types: Polyethylene (PE): plastic bags, plastic sheets and films, containers (including bottles), cosmetic microbeads and abrasive products. Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019, 90 percent of it from "production and conversion from fossil fuels", the report said. She or he will best know the preferred format. 91% of plastic waste hasn't been recycled. Subsequently it will be these containers the plastic objects that we will find more frequently in the environment, damaging marine ecosystems. For many of us, they have become an integral part of our daily lives. Still have a question about the data? Half the resins and fibers used in plastics were produced in the last 13 years, the study found. Of the plastic waste produced between 1950 and 2015, only 9 percent was Shardul Agrawala, the head of the OECD's environment and economy integration division, said Tuesday's report "further accentuates the need for countries to come together to start looking towards a global agreement to address this very important problem". Two statistics jump out immediately. The amount of plastic produced in a year is roughly the same as the entire weight of humanity. The same team, led by Jambeck, produced the first study that assessed the amount of plastic trash that flows into the oceans annually. One, that globally humans buy a million plastic bottles per minute. The new findings come as this waste has rebounded from the. This site uses cookies to assist with navigation, analyse your use of our services, collect data for ads personalisation and provide content from third parties. Mass production of plastics, which began just six decades ago, has accelerated so rapidly that it has created 8.3 billion metric tonsmost of it in disposable products that end up as trash. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited. Meanwhile, a recent report on plastic pollution has painted a grave picture about the current situation across the globe. Sources: Plastics information is from the American Chemistry Council, the National Association for PET Container Resources and The Association of Plastic Recyclers. If this seems like an incomprehensible amount, thats because it is. The United States ranks behind Europe (30 percent) and China (25 percent) in recycling, the study found. Geyer, an engineer by training, specializes in industrial ecology as a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara. The widely circulated statistic that 9% of plastic waste is recycled in the U.S. has now been deemed an overestimate. 2026-27. Sorry. In 2018, around 46 million tons of paper were sent in for recycling. . In 2019, the world generated 53.6 million metric tons (Mt), and only 17.4% of this was officially documented as properly collected and recycled. the Science X network is one of the largest online communities for science-minded people. It's not so much that consumers aren't motivated to recycle or that. Unfortunately, yes. Trying to find other information? Refer to the definitions of durable goods, nondurable goods, and containers and packaging. "After taking into account losses during recycling, only nine percent of plastic waste was ultimately recycled, while 19 percent was incinerated and almost 50 percent went to sanitary landfills," it said in its Global Plastics Outlook. Plastic bottles being recycled in Bangladesh. in Plastic Waste, Driving Need for Recycling: Global Packaged Food Sales in US$ Trillion: 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021 & 2023 Global Packaged Beverages Market by Material Type: Percentage Unfortunately, much of the worlds plastic has ended up in the ocean, where, dispersed by currents, the stuff becomes virtually irretrievable, especially once it has fragmented into microplastics. Food was the largest component at about 24 percent. Computer models suggest that seas hold as many as 51trn microplastic particles. The OECD proposed a series of "levers" to address the issue, including developing the market for recycled plastics, which only represent six percent of the totallargely because they are more expensive. Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019, 90 percent of it from "production and conversion from fossil fuels", the report said. The reasons behind the low percentage of plastic recycling are manifold. In the 28 countries surveyed, 23 percent of the respondents said such a treaty was "fairly important", 31 percent said it was "very important" and 34 percent found it "essential". Global plastic production now averages more than 300 million metric tons per year, which is a staggering increase compared to the 1.5 million metric tons produced in 1950. The world is producing twice as much plastic waste as it did two decades ago, with most of it ending up in landfills, being incinerated or leaking into the environment, and only 9% being successfully recycled, according to the OECDs Global Plastics Outlook report. #2: How Much Plastic is Recycled Each Year? Share Reuse this content The Economist. Plastics contributed 3.4 percent of global greenhouse emissions in 2019, 90 percent of it from . We werent aware of the implications for plastic ending up in our environment until it was already there, Jambeck says. The prediction that by mid-century, the oceans will contain more plastic waste than fish, ton for ton, has become one of the most-quoted statistics and a rallying cry to do something about it. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that in 2020 we produced 12.6 tons of plastic per second. Please refer to the EPA Methodology Document for further information on estimating the generation and management of plastics. 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