Bruna Alves
Research lead covering environment and sustainability
Plastic waste worldwide - statistics & facts
Plastic waste is one of the biggest issues facing the planet today, with its impacts stretching far and wide. It can be found polluting the tallest mountains to the deepest ocean trenches, and can affect human health, destroy ecosystems, and harm wildlife – especially marine species. The plastic waste problem has been aggravated in recent decades as the consumption of this versatile material has continued to rise. Global plastics production has doubled since the beginning of the century, to almost 400 million metric tons per year in 2021. While the lifespan of plastic products averages around 10 years, plastics can take up to 500 years to decompose, depending on their composition and disposal.
Plastic waste generation and treatment
Humans currently produce more than 350 million metric tons of plastic waste per year. Without changes to current policies, global plastic waste generation is projected to triple by 2060, to a staggering one billion metric tons. In contrast, if new measures and policies are introduced, such as increased taxes on plastics use and a vastly improved global recycling system, this figure could drop to less than 700 million metric tons. However, this remains an ambitious goal, as currently less than 10 percent of plastic waste is recycled per year. The vast majority of plastic waste generated is either landfilled or incinerated, emitting harmful pollutants. Another quarter ends up mismanaged or littered.Plastic waste pollution and its environmental impacts
Mismanaged plastic waste is mainly disposed of at illegal dumpsites or burned at open pits, while a considerable amount also leaks into environments such as rivers and oceans. Between 1970 to 2019, an estimated 30 million metric tons of plastics had accumulated in the ocean, while more than 100 million tons had accumulated in rivers and lakes. Such large amounts of plastic waste pollution in waterways can have devastating impacts on marine life and ecosystems. Asia accounts for more than 80 percent of global plastics waste emitted to the ocean. However, while wealthier regions are responsible for roughly five percent of ocean plastic waste inputs, they often export huge amounts of plastic waste to developing regions for processing. Many of these destinations lack the capacity to deal with such volumes of waste.
