Plastic waste is one of the biggest global environmental crises and concrete actions need to be taken to reduce it. A lot of plastic goes to waste, but only a small amount of it gets recycled. The United States is the largest plastic polluter, but the plastic in the country doesn't get recycled as much. Using OECD data, OurWorldInData shows the situation of plastic around the world. According to the data, America only recycled 5% of the overall plastic it wastes. Even though other countries are also producing a lot of waste and recycling only little of it, the situation is still better.
The data also shows that in the world, 9% of the total plastic gets recycled, while 19% is incinerated. 22% of the plastic is mismanaged in the world, while 49% of plastic gets landfilled. Mismanaged plastics include plastics which are burned, thrown in unsanitary landfills or dumped into water. One of the biggest reasons why plastics do not get recycled is the flaws in recycling systems. Most of the plastics cannot get recycled and only PET#1 and HDPE#2 gets recycled. There's also a price disparity in plastics which can and cannot be recycled.
To reduce the plastic waste, every one of us should take some measures. There should be a ban imposed on non recyclable or single-use plastics, there should be a global plastic treaty and the governments of countries all over the world should implement some laws and responsibilities for plastic producers. We should also try to decrease our plastic use individually.
Read next: AI Adoption Reshapes Expectations for Future Job Markets Worldwide
The data also shows that in the world, 9% of the total plastic gets recycled, while 19% is incinerated. 22% of the plastic is mismanaged in the world, while 49% of plastic gets landfilled. Mismanaged plastics include plastics which are burned, thrown in unsanitary landfills or dumped into water. One of the biggest reasons why plastics do not get recycled is the flaws in recycling systems. Most of the plastics cannot get recycled and only PET#1 and HDPE#2 gets recycled. There's also a price disparity in plastics which can and cannot be recycled.
To reduce the plastic waste, every one of us should take some measures. There should be a ban imposed on non recyclable or single-use plastics, there should be a global plastic treaty and the governments of countries all over the world should implement some laws and responsibilities for plastic producers. We should also try to decrease our plastic use individually.
Read next: AI Adoption Reshapes Expectations for Future Job Markets Worldwide
