Statistics
The numbers, with their sources
Production, waste, leakage, health, wildlife, climate and money. Every figure shows its data year, source, confidence rating and the date we last checked it. Rising trends are shown in red.
Right now
Since you opened this page
These counters divide the latest annual figures evenly across the year. They are illustrations of scale, not live measurements.
0
tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) since you opened this page
tonnes of CO₂-equivalent from making plastic
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 2024, 2019 Verified 22 Sep 2026
All statistics
Each figure links to its source. For short summaries of the studies behind them, see the Evidence library.
US$10bn
business opportunity from moving 20% of plastic packaging to reuse
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation's estimate of the market for refill, return and reuse models.
Evidence: MediumEllen MacArthur Foundation, Reuse – Rethinking Packaging, 2019, 2019 Verified 23 Sep 2026
28%
cheaper per use for returnable drink bottles once plastic and carbon taxes are counted
When a plastic tax and a higher carbon price are included, returnable drink bottles cost 28% less per use than single-use (modelled; packaging fees for drink bottles assumed unchanged).
Evidence: MediumEllen MacArthur Foundation (a charity; this study was advised by an industry group including Coca-Cola, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever), Unlocking a reuse revolution, 2023, 2023 Verified 23 Sep 2026
US$436bn–1.1tn
estimated yearly social cost of plastic to the United States
The most complete tally so far of the documented costs of plastic to US society, across its whole life cycle from fossil fuel extraction and production to use, disposal and mismanagement. The authors call it a conservative estimate.
Evidence: MediumLauer et al., Duke University Nicholas Institute, 2025, 2025 Verified 23 Sep 2026
>US$20bn
likely cost to companies of US lawsuits over plastic pollution, 2022–2030
Minderoo Foundation's preliminary estimate of what companies could have to pay from lawsuits started in 2022 to 2030. There is a 1-in-100 chance it exceeds US$100 billion.
Evidence: MediumMinderoo Foundation, The Price of Plastic Pollution, 2022, 2022 Verified 23 Sep 2026
6–10%
lower cost per use for returnable drink and personal-care bottles than single-use, in a large shared system
Ellen MacArthur Foundation modelling (2023) of returnable packaging at national scale: drink bottles 6% cheaper per use, personal-care bottles 10% cheaper.
Evidence: MediumEllen MacArthur Foundation (a charity; this study was advised by an industry group including Coca-Cola, Nestlé, PepsiCo and Unilever), Unlocking a reuse revolution, 2023, 2023 Verified 23 Sep 2026
17×
more per pound for foam polystyrene than cardboard under Oregon’s 2026 packaging fees
Under Oregon's law, companies that sell packaging pay fees to fund its recycling. Foam polystyrene containers cost 138 cents a pound, against 8 cents for corrugated cardboard. Flexible plastic laminates cost 102 cents.
Evidence: HighCircular Action Alliance (the producer-led body that collects the fees), 2026 Oregon Producer Fee Schedule, 2026 Verified 23 Sep 2026
US$157,883
net saving a year for one university café that switched diners to reusable dishes
The University of San Francisco's Market Café cut 2.6 million disposable items a year with no added labour (2017).
Evidence: MediumClean Water Fund, ReThink Disposable case study, 2017, 2017 Verified 23 Sep 2026
6.5%
of Canada’s discarded plastic became recycled plastic in 2022
About 333,000 tonnes of recycled pellets, flakes and fibres came out of 5.2 million tonnes of plastic thrown away, and recycled output fell 10.4% on 2021.
Evidence: MediumStatistics Canada, Physical flow account for plastic material, 2022 (released 26 March 2026), 2022 Verified 26 Sep 2026
£228.82
per tonne in UK Plastic Packaging Tax from April 2026
Charged on plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content, for businesses making or importing 10 tonnes or more a year. It rises every April.
Evidence: HighHM Revenue and Customs, Plastic Packaging Tax, 2026 Verified 23 Sep 2026
73,710
tonnes of plastic leaked into Canada’s environment in 2022
About 1.4% of the plastic Canada threw away ended up in the environment instead of being collected.
Evidence: MediumStatistics Canada, Physical flow account for plastic material, 2022 (released 26 March 2026), 2022 Verified 26 Sep 2026
430.9M
tonnes of plastic produced in 2024
Industry's own count of global plastics production, up 16% since 2018. That is about 820 tonnes every minute, or 13.7 tonnes every second.
Evidence: MediumPlastics Europe, Plastics – the fast Facts 2025, 2024 Verified 22 Sep 2026
5.2M
tonnes of plastic thrown away in Canada in 2022
Businesses, institutions and households in Canada discarded about 5.2 million tonnes of plastic, up 2.9% on 2021. Almost all of it (98.6%) was collected as waste.
Evidence: HighStatistics Canada, Physical flow account for plastic material, 2022 (released 26 March 2026), 2022 Verified 26 Sep 2026
460M
tonnes of plastic used worldwide in 2019
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s reference figure for global plastics use, up from 2 million tonnes in 1950.
Evidence: HighOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Plastics Outlook, 2019 Verified 22 Sep 2026
353M
tonnes of plastic waste generated in 2019
Roughly 11 tonnes of plastic becomes waste every second. Only 9% of it is recycled.
Evidence: MediumOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Plastics Outlook, 2019 Verified 22 Sep 2026
139M
tonnes of single-use plastic waste in 2021
Single-use plastic waste grew from 133 to 139 million tonnes between 2019 and 2021 despite bans; about 4.4 tonnes every second.
Evidence: HighMinderoo Plastic Waste Makers Index 2023, 2021 Verified 22 Sep 2026
19–23M
tonnes of plastic entering rivers, lakes and seas in 2016
Recommended headline range for plastic entering water: 19–23 million tonnes a year, or 36–44 tonnes every minute.
Evidence: HighBorrelle et al. 2020, Science, 2016 Verified 22 Sep 2026
8M
tonnes of plastic that entered the ocean in 2010 (the classic figure)
The origin of 'a garbage truck a minute' (about 15 tonnes per minute). It describes 2010 and land-based sources only.
Evidence: ContestedJambeck et al. 2015, Science, 2010 Verified 22 Sep 2026
1.7M
tonnes of plastic leaked to the ocean in 2019 (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development scope)
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s narrower estimate: 22 million tonnes leaked to the environment, 6.1 million to water and 1.7 million to the ocean in 2019.
Evidence: MediumOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Plastics Outlook, 2019 Verified 22 Sep 2026
0.5M
tonnes of buoyant plastic entering the ocean each year (measured)
The lowest and most direct estimate: about 0.5 million tonnes of floating plastic a year, feeding a 3.2-million-tonne ocean stock that persists for decades.
Evidence: HighKaandorp et al. 2023, Nature Geoscience, 2020 Verified 22 Sep 2026
30M
tonnes of plastic burned in the open each year
Of 52 million tonnes of plastic entering unmanaged systems in 2020, 57% was burned in homes, streets and dumps, releasing toxic fumes.
Evidence: HighCottom et al. 2024, Nature, 2020 Verified 22 Sep 2026
~1 million
plastic drink bottles bought every minute (2016)
Around 480 billion plastic bottles were sold in 2016, about a million a minute, according to market research cited by The Guardian.
Evidence: ContestedEuromonitor via The Guardian, 2016 Verified 22 Sep 2026
739,583
km of fishing longline lost at sea every year
Longlines are long fishing lines that carry thousands of hooks. Enough is lost to circle the Earth 18 times, plus 14 billion hooks and 25 million pots and traps. The figures come from interviews with 451 fishers.
Evidence: HighRichardson et al. 2022, Science Advances, 2022 Verified 22 Sep 2026
2.24 billion
tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) from making new (virgin) plastic in 2019
Primary plastic production emitted 2.24 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2019, about 71 tonnes every second and more than all aviation.
Evidence: HighLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 2024, 2019 Verified 22 Sep 2026
5.3%
of global greenhouse-gas emissions from making virgin plastic
Making plastic produced 5.3% of global emissions in 2019, not counting farming and land use. A separate study put plastic's whole life cycle at 4.5% of emissions in 2015. The two use different years and methods, so they are not directly comparable.
Evidence: HighLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 2024, 2019 Verified 22 Sep 2026
356,238
heart-disease deaths a year linked to the plasticiser di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
DEHP is a chemical added to make plastic soft and flexible. It was linked to 13.5% of all cardiovascular deaths among 55–64-year-olds worldwide in 2018, about 976 a day.
Evidence: HighHyman, Acevedo, Giannarelli & Trasande 2025, eBioMedicine, 2018 Verified 22 Sep 2026
~158,000
premature deaths in 2015 from air pollution linked to plastic production
Tiny particles of air pollution from making plastics were linked to about 158,000 early deaths and over US$200 billion in health-related losses in 2015, in a modelled estimate.
Evidence: MediumLancet Countdown on health and plastics 2025, 2015 Verified 22 Sep 2026
9%
of all plastic ever made that has been recycled
Of the 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste generated between 1950 and 2015, 9% was recycled, 12% incinerated and 79% landfilled or dumped.
Evidence: HighGeyer, Jambeck & Law 2017, Science Advances, 2015 Verified 22 Sep 2026
9%
of plastic waste recycled worldwide in 2019
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s annual recycling rate: 9% recycled, 19% incinerated, 50% landfilled and 22% mismanaged.
Evidence: HighOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Plastics Outlook, 2019 Verified 22 Sep 2026
5–6%
of US plastic waste recycled in 2021
US plastic recycling has fallen, not risen: an estimate by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) of 5–6% for 2021, against an official 8.7% for 2018 from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Evidence: MediumBeyond Plastics & The Last Beach Cleanup 2022, 2021 Verified 22 Sep 2026
41%
of EU plastic packaging waste recycled in 2022
The EU recycles well under half of its plastic packaging. The rate rose only slightly, from 38% in 2012.
Evidence: HighEurostat, 2022 Verified 22 Sep 2026
35.3
kg of plastic packaging waste per person per year in the EU
Every EU resident generates about 35 kg of plastic packaging waste a year.
Evidence: HighEurostat, 2023 Verified 22 Sep 2026
1,014M
tonnes of plastic waste projected in 2060 without new policy
Plastic waste nearly triples from 353 million tonnes in 2019 to 1,014 million tonnes in 2060 on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s baseline path.
Evidence: MediumOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060, 2060 Verified 22 Sep 2026
1,200M
tonnes of plastic projected to be produced in 2060
Production has gone from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to 475 million in 2022 and is set to reach 1,200 million tonnes by 2060.
Evidence: HighLancet Countdown on health and plastics 2025, 2060 Verified 22 Sep 2026
17%
recycling rate projected for 2060 without new policy
Even by 2060, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) baseline sees only 17% of plastic waste recycled, with half still going to landfill.
Evidence: HighOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060, 2060 Verified 22 Sep 2026
8 billion
tonnes of plastic waste already polluting the planet
The Lancet Countdown estimates 8 billion tonnes of plastic waste now pollute land, water and air worldwide.
Evidence: HighLancet Countdown on health and plastics 2025, 2025 Verified 22 Sep 2026
171 trillion
plastic particles floating on the ocean surface
About 171 trillion particles, weighing roughly 2.3 million tonnes, were afloat in 2019; the number has risen sharply since 2005.
Evidence: HighEriksen et al. 2023, PLOS ONE, 2019 Verified 22 Sep 2026
914
marine species known to be harmed by plastic debris
914 species have been recorded ingesting or entangled in marine debris, up from 267 in 1997.
Evidence: HighKühn & van Franeker 2020, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 2020 Verified 22 Sep 2026
90%
of seabirds have eaten plastic
Modelling estimates 90% of individual seabirds have ingested plastic; 99% of species will be affected by 2050.
Evidence: HighWilcox, Van Sebille & Hardesty 2015, PNAS, 2015 Verified 24 Sep 2026
>16,000
chemicals used in plastics
PlastChem identified 16,325 chemicals in plastics; more than 4,200 are of concern and fewer than 6% are regulated internationally.
Evidence: HighPlastChem: State of the Science on Plastic Chemicals, 2024 Verified 22 Sep 2026
>4,200
plastic chemicals classed as ‘of concern’
About 26% of known plastic chemicals are of concern. They last a long time in the environment, build up in living things, spread easily in water, or are toxic. More than 10,000 have no hazard data at all.
Evidence: HighPlastChem: State of the Science on Plastic Chemicals, 2024 Verified 22 Sep 2026
Numbers we deliberately do not use
Some widely shared figures do not survive scrutiny. We keep a public list so you can check before you repeat them: ‘a credit card of plastic a week’ (a re-analysis gives roughly 4 micrograms a week, thousands of times less), ‘a spoon of plastic in your brain’ (image-duplication and false-positive critiques; a 2026 study found around 100 times lower levels), ‘more plastic than fish by 2050’ (a projection built on two uncertain estimates), ‘plastic takes 450 years to degrade’ (no measurement supports a single number) and ‘ten rivers carry 90% of ocean plastic’ (a later study found it is closer to a thousand rivers carrying 80%).