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TRENDS & UPDATES
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HUGE GROWTH IN PLASTIC PRODUCTION
PREDICTED
The amount of plastic waste produced globally is set to nearly
triple by 2060, according to a new OEC...
HUGE GROWTH IN PLASTIC PRODUCTION
PREDICTED
The amount of plastic waste produced globally is set to nearly
triple by 2060, according to a new OECD report which expects
half to end up in landfill with less than a fifth recycled.
The report projects global plastics consumption rising from 460
million tonnes in 2019 to 1 231 million tonnes in 2060, with the fast-
est growth in developing and emerging countries in Africa and Asia.
Plastic leakage to the environment globally is expected to double
to 44 million tonnes a year and plastic waste will balloon from 353
million tonnes in 2019 to 1 014 million tonnes in 2060.
Global Plastics Outlook: Policy Scenarios to 2060 estimates that
almost two-thirds of plastic waste in 2060 will be from short-lived
items such as packaging, low-cost products and textiles.
‘If we want a world that is free of plastic pollution, in line with the
ambitions of the United Nations Environment Assembly, we will
need to take much more stringent and globally co-ordinated
action,’ OECD secretary-general Mathias Cormann says. ‘This report
proposes concrete policies that can be implemented along the life-
cycle of plastics that could significantly curb – and even eliminate –
plastic leakage into the environment.’
The OECD also looks at how actions to reduce greenhouse emis-
sions could reduce plastic pollution and argues that policies to
encourage a more circular use of them should include:
• Taxes on plastics, including on plastic packaging
• Incentives to reuse and repair plastic items
• Targets for recycled content in new plastic products
• Extended producer responsibility schemes
• Improved waste management infrastructure
• Increased litter collection rates
The share of plastic waste that is successfully recycled is projected
to rise to 17% in 2060 from 9% in 2019, while incineration and land-
filling will continue to account for around 20% and 50% of plastic
waste respectively. The share of plastic that evades waste manage-
ment systems – ending up instead in uncontrolled dumpsites,
burned in open pits or leaking into the soil or aquatic environments
– is projected to fall to 15% from 22%.
This new report follows the OECD’s first Global Plastics Outlook:
Economic Drivers, Environmental Impacts and Policy Options,
released in February 2022. UN member states have since pledged
to negotiate a legally binding international agreement by 2024 to
end plastic pollution.
