This is, in tons, the weight of annual plastic production in the world, according to the OECD. This number more than doubled between 2000 and 2019 and this acceleration is expected to continue: if nothing is done, global production will almost triple by 2060 to 1,231million tons of plastic.
This is the maximum lifespan of nearly two-thirds of plastics produced each year, according to the OECD. The latter are mainly used for food packaging (31%), textiles and consumer goods (23%) and therefore end up as waste after only one or a few uses.
This is the number of tonnes of plastic waste produced on the planet in 2019, according to the OECD. However, the share varies enormously depending on the part of the world: 21% comes from the United States, 19% from China, 28% from OECD countries, 5% from India. The rest of the world accounts for 27%.
This is the amount of plastic waste produced each year on average per French, according to the Eurostat network, a little more than the average of an average European (35 kg). The equivalent of 1,070 bottles of 500 ml. In total, around 30 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced each year in the EU.
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This is the low percentage of plastic waste recycled in the world, in 2019, according to the OECD For the rest, half now end up in landfills, 19% are incinerated and 22% are abandoned in the wild or burned in the open. In total, 22million pieces of plastic waste are released into nature each year.
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This is the share of plastic in global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to the OECD. In addition to the pollution it generates, it also has a detrimental effect on the climate. These emissions come largely from its production and processing of fossil fuels, with more than 99% of plastics produced from oil, gas and coal. If this use continues to increase as expected, its greenhouse gas emissions will reach 15% of the global carbon budget by 2050, estimates the NGO Human Rights Watch.
This is the number of people who die each year in developing countries from diseases related to poor waste management, including toxic fumes emitted during the burning of plastic waste, according to a study by the Tearfund association.
That's the number of tonnes of plastic waste that accumulated in aquatic environments between 1970 and 2019, according to the OECD – 109 million ended up in rivers and lakes and 30 million in the oceans. In total, it is estimated that every minute in the world, the equivalent of a plastic garbage truck ends up in the ocean.
This is the number of marine mammals that die each year due to the ingestion of plastics or entanglement in debris. In addition to plastic nets and bags, the ocean is filled with microplastics – small pieces less than 5 mm in diameter resulting from the fragmentation of bags, bottles, tires, cigarette butts, clothing fibers... For example, blue whales ingest 10 million a day, according to a study published in 2022 in the journal Nature.
This is the number of grams of plastic that humans absorb each week, according to an Australian study published in 2019, the equivalent of a credit card.
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