Plastic has become ubiquitous in human society, with about 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic produced since 1950. Out of this amount, 6.4 billion metric tons have become waste which either sits in landfills or, even worse, the natural environment. Globally, humans have produced more plastic in the last 15 years than they have in the last 50 years. Due to the rise of oil and gas, packaging has become the largest plastic market as it is often cheaper to produce virgin plastics as a petroleum product rather than recycle plastic.

Plastic and the Environment
Plastic is largely tied to the oil industry as it is both cheap and easy to convert oil into plastics, creating single-use plastics or disposable plastics. Petroleum-based plastics are not biodegradable and often get thrown into landfills. It is estimated that plastic water bottles may take up to 450 years to degrade, however, plastics do not biodegrade into natural substances but rather will continuously breakdown into smaller and smaller particles. These particles, microplastics, have been found in the water and food supply as well as in animals and humans.

Global plastic waste generation increased seven-fold between 1980 and 2019, reaching 353 million metric tons in the latter year. Packaging was consistently the main source of plastic waste during this period, reaching 142 million metric tons in 2019. Plastic waste is a major environmental issue around the world, with huge quantities leaking into marine ecosystems.

The amount of plastic waste generated worldwide is projected to triple by 2060, to surpass one billion metric tons. This dramatic growth is set to be fueled by rising populations and economic growth. With so much plastic waste generated, proper waste management will be urgently needed to reduce environmental impact. However, projections show that landfilling will continue to be the main disposal method worldwide by 2060, with recycling accounting for less than 20 percent. Much of the plastic waste generated over the coming four decades will be caused by packaging.

In 2024, the per capita plastic waste volume in Hong Kong was estimated to amount to around 121 kilograms. Singapore had the second-highest per capita plastic waste volume in the Asia-Pacific region that year, an estimated 87 kilograms. Waste production and waste trade Plastic waste is a global issue, with plastic waste generation projected to triple by 2060. Currently, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for over half of the global production of plastic materials. In addition to locally generated plastic waste in the region, many countries in South and Southeast Asia are major destinations for plastic waste exports from Europe and the United States. Malaysia and Vietnam in particular import the highest volume of plastic waste among Asia-Pacific countries. How to deal with waste? Next to the sheer volume of plastics and plastic waste in the region, inadequate collection and processing infrastructures of waste are the main drivers of plastic pollution in many APAC countries. For example, while India's official per-capita waste generation is below the global average, this number is estimated to be significantly higher. The discrepancy stems from a lack of waste collection and a booming informal sector, leading to almost half of the generated plastic waste in India being mismanaged in its treatment. Countries like Japan and South Korea are also still generating large amounts of single plastics and are seeking to tackle the issue of managing the waste volume. Efforts of the countries’ respective governments have led to increasing recycling rates over the last couple of years, with both countries currently positioned at the lower end of the Mismanaged Waste Index for plastic in the Asia-Pacific region.

This statistic displays the plastic waste volume worldwide in 2015, and a forecast figure for 2050. In 2015, global plastic waste volume reached around 6.3 billion metric tons. This figure is expected to increase to 12 billion metric tons by 2050.

The amount of plastic waste produced globally was estimated to be 353 million metric tons in 2019. Under current policies, this amount is projected to almost triple by 2060. Under the Regional Action plan scenario, the annual amount of plastic waste produced worldwide could fall to 837 million metric ton, while the Global Ambition scenario could potentially reduce plastic waste generation to less than 680 million metric tons. This could be achieved via several policies, including increased taxes on plastics use, and increasing the global recycling rate to 60 percent. This would see the amount of mismanaged plastic waste drop to roughly six million metric tons, compared with 153 million metric tons in the baseline scenario. The amount of plastic leakage into the environment would also be considerably reduced. In contrast, a business-as-usual approach would see the amount of plastic leakage climb to four million metric tons by 2060.

An estimated 353 million metric tons of plastic waste were generated worldwide in 2019. While 55 million metric tons of this total were collected for recycling, just nine percent, or 33 million metric tons, were recycled. Almost half of global plastic waste was landfilled that year, while 82 million metric tons were mismanaged and littered. Mismanaged plastic waste typically leaks into rivers, oceans, and other waterways, devastating marine life and ecosystems.

It is estimated that some 200,000 metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste, i.e burnt or dumped, is created by Coca-Cola every year across these six developing nations. The company's biggest plastic pollution footprint is in Mexico, where approximately 75,000 metric tons is produced per year. This is enough plastic waste to cover more than 12 football pitches a day. Coca-Cola is by far the most popular beverage brand in Mexico.

In 2022, the volume of plastic waste in Japan amounted to approximately 8.23 million tons. This represented a decrease from over nine million tons in 2013. Even though the volume of plastic waste generated in Japan decreased throughout the past decade, plastic waste pollution remains a major environmental issue. Plastic takes up to 500 years to decompose and represents a threat to the health of humans and animals when ending up in the food chain in the form of microplastic.

Households generated most waste in Japan In Japan, most of the overall waste was generated by households, while business-related waste constituted a smaller amount. Plastic packaging and plastic containers made up around half of the household waste since it is commonly used for food and beverage containers and other types of packaging. With an incineration rate of municipal waste of around 75 percent, incineration represented the most widely used waste treatment method in Japan. Despite filtering technologies, the incineration process produces greenhouse gases that contribute to air pollution and global warming. In contrast, the overall recycling rate remained low at around 20 percent.

Paper is becoming a common substitute for plastic As a measure to reduce plastic waste, many Japanese companies are starting to replace plastic products with paper products, especially for packaging materials. Paper poses a more sustainable alternative as it is more easily recyclable and is defined as a renewable resource since it is made from wood. Additionally, amounting to over 79 percent, paper had one of the highest recycling rates in Japan.

Approximately 2.3 million metric tons of plastic packaging waste were generated in the United Kingdom in 2023, a slight increase from the previous year. Snack bags, packets, and wrappers as well as food and vegetables packaging are some of the most common type of plastic packaging waste thrown out by UK households. How much plastic packaging waste is recycled? As plastic packaging waste generation in the UK has grown in the past decade, so has the recycling rate of plastic packaging in the country. In 2023, it stood at 52.5 percent, up from less than 32 percent a decade earlier. An average of 21 kilograms of plastics packaging were collected for recycling per UK househod in 2023, with plastic bottles accounting for the largest share. The battle against single-use plastics in the UK Eight out of 10 British adults supported banning single-use plastics as soon as possible, according to a 2024 survey. In 2015, the UK government introduced a fee for single-use plastic bags in large shops in England, in an effort to reduce plastic pollution. Since then, several additional measures have been put in place. The latest includes the ban or restriction of several types of single-use plastic products in England, such as plates, bowls, trays, or cutlery.

It is estimated that Singapore generated 76 kilograms of single-use plastic waste per person in 2019, making it the leading single-use plastic waste polluter on a per capita basis worldwide. This was followed by Australia, where an estimated 59 kilograms of single-use plastic waste is generated per capita. Single-use plastic waste is typically burnt, buried in landfills, or ends up in waterways. Every year huge volumes of mismanaged plastic waste is generated by the world's coastal populations, which more often than not leaks into oceans.

It is estimated that some 70,000 metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste, i.e burnt or dumped, is created by Unilever every year across these six developing nations. This is enough plastic waste to cover more than 11 football pitches a day.

The company's biggest plastic pollution footprint is in India, where approximately 32,500 metric tons is produced per year. In 2019, Unilever sales in India amounted to 378 billion Indian rupees. This is approximately 4.5 billion Euros.

The United States generated 35.7 million short tons of plastic waste in 2018. The amount of plastic waste generated in the U.S. municipal solid waste stream has increased dramatically over the last few decades. In 1970, the U.S. generated 2.9 million short tons of plastic waste, and by 2000 this figure had increased to 25.5 million short tons. In recent years the U.S. has generated more than 30 million short tons of plastic waste a year.

In 2018, packaging accounted for 46 percent of global plastic waste generation. This was considerably higher than any other sector, with textiles making up the second highest share with approximately 15 percent.

Although very useful, plastic products, such as packaging, pose a number of environmental threats. Due to poor infrastructure and a lack of recycling options, products often end up in landfill sites, or oceans, causing significant environmental pollution.

It is estimated that some 95,000 metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste, i.e burnt or dumped, is created by Nestlé every year across these six developing nations. This is enough plastic waste to cover more than 15 football pitches a day.

The company's biggest plastic pollution footprint is in the Philippines, where approximately 35,500 metric tons is produced per year. This was followed by Brazil, which is Nestlé's third leading market based on sales.

The worldwide production of plastics reached 413.8 million metric tons in 2023. The versatility of this group of materials accounts for the continued growth in production year after year. In tandem with that growth, the market value of plastics also continues to grow. What plastics are and how they are made Plastics are used in a wide variety of products and have displaced other materials – such as wood, metal, and glass – that were previously used for the applications that plastics now dominate. One of the main applications for plastics use is plastic packaging. The production of plastic requires four basic steps: the acquirement of raw material, synthesizing a basic polymer, compounding the polymer into a usable fraction, and lastly, molding or shaping the plastic. Leading plastic producers Asia was the largest plastics producer in the world in 2023. That year, the country accounted for 33 percent of global production. Over recent years, China produced an average of approximately nine million metric tons of plastic products each month. The rest of Asia ranks second worldwide in terms of plastic production, with a share of 19 percent in 2023.

It is estimated that some 137,000 metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste, i.e burnt or dumped, is created by PepsiCo every year across these six developing nations. This is enough plastic waste to cover more than 22 football pitches a day.

The company's biggest plastic pollution footprint is in Mexico, where approximately 59,500 metric tons is produced per year. The biggest concern amongst Mexicans regarding plastic waste pollution is its contamination of water supplies.

The global e-commerce industry used approximately 2.1 billion pounds of plastic packaging in 2019. It is projected that e-commerce plastic packaging use will continue to grow in the coming years, reaching an estimated 4.5 billion pounds by 2025. In 2019, e-commerce plastic packaging waste was estimated at more than one billion kilograms worldwide.

In 2022, approximately 878 metric tons of plastic bags were disposed of daily in municipal solid waste landfills in Hong Kong. Furthermore, an additional 206 metric tons of plastic bottles were landfilled on average every day that same year. Overall, plastic waste accounted for the second-largest share of average daily municipal solid waste in Hong Kong in 2021.

In 2024, China was estimated to produce the highest amount of plastic waste in the Asia-Pacific region, approximately 55.7 million tons. In comparison, Timor-Leste was estimated to produce around 5.86 thousand tons of plastic waste that year.