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.
Human health
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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.
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The ‘credit card of plastic a week’ claim is wrong by about a million times
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)’s viral estimate that people ingest 5 grams of plastic a week was re-analysed and found to be roughly…
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Clothes washing and tyre wear are the biggest sources of ocean microplastics
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates 1.5 million tonnes of primary microplastics reach the ocean each year, over a third from synthetic…
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Microplastics found in human blood for the first time
A Dutch pilot study detected plastic particles in the blood of 17 of 22 healthy adults, at an average of 1.6 micrograms per millilitre.
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First evidence of microplastics in the human placenta
Italian researchers found plastic fragments in four of six placentas, on both the mother’s and the baby’s side.
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Microplastics measurable in every one of 62 placentas tested
Using a mass-spectrometry method, US researchers found plastic in 100% of placentas, at 6.5 to 790 micrograms per gram of tissue.
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The disputed ‘spoonful of plastic in your brain’ study
A Nature Medicine paper reported plastic in every brain tested, rising over time, but its method and headline figure are strongly contested.
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Plastic detected in almost every human brain sample, at much lower levels
A 2026 study found micro- and nanoplastics in all 35 healthy brain samples and in 99.4% of samples from people with brain tumours.
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Microplastic fibres found deep inside living human lungs
UK surgeons and scientists found microplastics in 11 of 13 lung tissue samples, including the deepest regions of the lung.