Global plastics use has increased six-fold since 1980, reaching a high of 460 million metric tons in 2019. Global plastics use was expected to decrease 2.2 percent year-on-year in 2020. This decline was mainly a result of COVID-19-related lockdown measures, which had a significant impact on plastics production and use. The last notable reduction in plastics use was during the 2008 /2009 global financial crisis. Global plastics use is forecast to continue rising in the coming decades.
Plastics use worldwide from 1980 to 2020
(in million metric tons)
Characteristic
Plastics use in millon metric tons
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OECD. (June 21, 2022). Plastics use worldwide from 1980 to 2020 (in million metric tons) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved July 22, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1358043/plastic-consumption-worldwide/
OECD. "Plastics use worldwide from 1980 to 2020 (in million metric tons)." Chart. June 21, 2022. Statista. Accessed July 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1358043/plastic-consumption-worldwide/
OECD. (2022). Plastics use worldwide from 1980 to 2020 (in million metric tons). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: July 22, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1358043/plastic-consumption-worldwide/
OECD. "Plastics Use Worldwide from 1980 to 2020 (in Million Metric Tons)." Statista, Statista Inc., 21 Jun 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1358043/plastic-consumption-worldwide/
OECD, Plastics use worldwide from 1980 to 2020 (in million metric tons) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1358043/plastic-consumption-worldwide/ (last visited July 22, 2024)
Plastics use worldwide from 1980 to 2020 (in million metric tons) [Graph], OECD, June 21, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1358043/plastic-consumption-worldwide/