lifetime cost to society of the plastic made in 2019
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Dalberg put the lifetime cost of one year’s plastic at US$3.7 trillion, more than India’s gross domestic product (GDP), rising to US$7.1 trillion for 2040’s output.
- Value
- US$3.7 trillion
- Unit
- US$
- Data year
- 2019
- Trend
- Rising
- Source name
- World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) / Dalberg 2021, Plastics: the costs to society, the environment and the economy
- Source link
- wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?3507866
- Confidence
- Evidence: Medium
- Caveat / scope
- Modelled; about 85% is valued marine-ecosystem damage using contested nature-pricing methods.
- Verified on
- 22 September 2026
Sources last verified 22 September 2026. Page updated 23 September 2026. How we check sources