Only 9.5% of Plastic Made in 2022 Came from Recycled Material, Study Finds
The most plastic is made from fossil fuels, predominantly coal and oil, despite rhetoric by producers, supermarkets and drinks companies about plastic being recycled. Globally, landfill remains the main destination of plastic waste. Just 9.5% of plastic made in 2022 used recycled material, study shows.
The research analysed the 400m tonnes of plastic. Plastic production has risen markedly since the 2m tonnes manufactured in 1950, and is projected to reach 800m tonnes a year by 2050, at an annual growth rate of 8.4%.
Of the 400m tonnes of plastic produced over the course of 2022, just under 38m tonnes (9.5%) was produced from recycled plastic, 98% of the remaining 362m tonnes was produced from fossil fuels, predominantly coal and oil.
The research shows a significant increase in the amount of plastic being disposed of by incineration rather than recycling, with just 27.9% of plastic waste disposed of in 2022 actually being recycled.The research published in Communications Earth & Environment (Nature).
China is the biggest producer and consumer of plastic, but Americans consume the most plastic per head, the equivalent of 216kg per person a year. The US produces 40.1 megatonnes (Mt) of plastic waste – most of it from plastic packaging.
The 28 countries of the EU and Japan also register high per capita plastic consumption, at 86.6kg and 129kg respectively.
Globally, landfill remains the main destination of plastic waste, accounting for 103.37 Mt or 40%. The total waste generated in 2022 amounted to 267.68 Mt of which 74.75 Mt were sorted and collected for mechanical recycling and 6.66 Mt traded. Among the total plastic waste collected and sorted, 37.96 Mt of plastics have been recycled (accounting for 9% of the primary production), 30.66 Mt were diverted to incineration facilities, and the remaining 6.25 Mt landfilled. In total 29.60 Mt of plastics have been mismanaged, 103.10 Mt landfilled, 89.99 Mt incinerated. A total of 436.66 Mt of plastics were traded in 2022. Among those, feedstocks trade accounted for 71 Mt.
Attempts continue to agree a global plastic waste treaty to tackle the environmental and public health scourge of plastic waste.
Related Articles
Page
About us
We report on products, trends, equipment, and key developments across the global Circular Economy market. Follow us to know more!
Danish wind tech firm Vestas hails new era for the industry, as new method of recycling wind turbine blades promises to eliminate landfill disposal across the sector.
Vestas has unveiled an alternative to scrapping decommissioned wind turbine blades, which harnesses a newly discovered chemical process to ensure old blades can be recycled.
A British company has developed the first tractor in the world to be completely powered by cow dung.
The liquid methane gas-powered T7 vehicle is said to be first of its kind and could mark a turning point in efficient energy supply on UK farms.
