tonnes of plastic waste generated in 2019
Roughly 11 tonnes of plastic becomes waste every second. Only 9% of it is recycled.
Soil and food
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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.
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Only 9% of all plastic ever made has been recycled
The first global accounting of every plastic ever produced found that most of it is already waste and almost none was recycled.
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Land-to-sea plastic flows are 4–9 times higher than the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) assumes
Independent modelling finds far more plastic reaches the sea than OECD scenarios assume, and microplastic levels stay high to 2060 even under ambitious policy.
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Uncollected waste and open burning, not littering, drive plastic pollution
A Nature study finds 52 million tonnes of plastic entered the environment in 2020, most of it burned or dumped where rubbish collection does…