Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made
- PMID: 28776036
- PMCID: PMC5517107
- DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1700782
Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made
Abstract
Plastics have outgrown most man-made materials and have long been under environmental scrutiny. However, robust global information, particularly about their end-of-life fate, is lacking. By identifying and synthesizing dispersed data on production, use, and end-of-life management of polymer resins, synthetic fibers, and additives, we present the first global analysis of all mass-produced plastics ever manufactured. We estimate that 8300 million metric tons (Mt) as of virgin plastics have been produced to date. As of 2015, approximately 6300 Mt of plastic waste had been generated, around 9% of which had been recycled, 12% was incinerated, and 79% was accumulated in landfills or the natural environment. If current production and waste management trends continue, roughly 12,000 Mt of plastic waste will be in landfills or in the natural environment by 2050.
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Comment in
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Single-Use Plastics and COVID-19: Scientific Evidence and Environmental Regulations.Environ Sci Technol. 2020 Jun 16;54(12):7034-7036. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c02269. Epub 2020 Jun 8. Environ Sci Technol. 2020. PMID: 32510208 No abstract available.
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Plastic pollution: Where are we regarding research and risk assessment in support of management and regulation?Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2022 Jun;18(4):851-852. doi: 10.1002/ieam.4627. Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2022. PMID: 35765898 No abstract available.
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