The bottled water industry has grown rapidly over the past few years. The world uses 500 billion single-use plastic bags every year. 80% of plastic bottles never get recycled. Australia recycles only 36% of PET plastic drink bottles. Between 2004 and 2014, the global production of plastics grew from 225 million tons to 311 million tons, an increase of 38%. FACT #3 Also in 2015, U.S. exporters shipped more than 2 million tons of plastic scrap, valued at $810 million. Plastic recycling has become an increasingly important sector of recycling, but it would be hard to declare it a great success story from an environmental perspective. Plastic bottles collected by kerbside schemes in the UK 2018, by country Leading plastic waste exporters worldwide 2018 Leading plastic waste importers worldwide 2018 Interesting Plastic Bottle Manufacturing Industry Statistics #1. FACT #3 : Americans purchase about 50 billion water bottles per year, averaging about 13 bottles per month for every person in the U.S.! Since the industry began, annual global plastic production has exploded from some 1.5 million metric tons in 1950 to 359 billion metric tons in 2018. It takes 500 years for average sized plastic water bottles to fully decompose. PlasticsEurope reports that 7.7 million tons of plastics were recycled globally in 2014 That includes more than 3.5 million tons of post-industrial and post-consumer plastic scrap that were recycled in the United States, according to ISRI estimates. 13 billion bottles are used each year in the UK, with just 57% / 7.5 billion being recycled; 1,500 plastic bottles are thrown away every second of every day. Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues, as rapidly increasing production of disposable plastic products overwhelms the world’s ability to deal with them. data than referenced in the text. In 2016, world plastics production totaled around 335 million metric tons. Plastic waste from agricultureSeveral EPRO members are also active within the agriculture sector, collecting and recovering agriculture film and other non- packaging plastics in addition to rigid plastic packaging waste from farmers. That makes plastic bags the second most common kind of waste item found in coastal cleanup. Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong 2017: PDF. Items like glass bottles, plastic containers, aluminium cans, food wrappers, timber pallets and drums are all classified as packaging. This number equals to 6.8% of total plastic waste generated in the U.S. that year. This number equals to 6.8% of total plastic waste generated in the U.S. that year. Some 480bn plastic bottles were sold globally in 2016 - that's a million bottles … China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka are the top plastic polluters on the planet. FACT #4 But there’s an easy way to reduce your plastic use. These Facts and Figures are current through calendar year 2018. We are happy to help. According to the EPA, about 30% of recyclable plastic bottles and jars were actually recycled in 2015. Much has been written about the Philippines’ plastic pollution problem. Sources of plastic waste. Packaging products are the biggest contributor to plastic waste. Rick LeBlanc wrote about sustainability and supply chain topics for The Balance Small Business. Quick Analysis with our professional Research Service: Content Marketing & Information Design for your projects: In the following 7 chapters, you will quickly find the {amountStatistics} most important statistics relating to "Global plastic waste". EU 28+2 recycled 6.8m tonnes, 40.9%, of its 16.7m tonnes plastic packaging waste in 2016, surpassing the EU’s minimum target of 22.5%. Plastic waste treatment in Europe. 84% of respondents aged 55+ supported the ban of disposable coffee cups. Plastic Bottles: The Poster Boy of Plastic Waste Plastic bottles are a major contributor to the plastic waste nightmare that has swept the world. Every year, roughly 102.1 billion plastic bags are used by Americans. 17. We also support the re-design of liquid cartons to improve its environmental performance, such as increasing the content of renewable and responsibly sourced materials and moving away from plastic straw, bag and glue. Most bottled water is transported by truck, rail, or ship, so fossil fuels are burned to move it. Packaging waste can arise from a wide range of sources including supermarkets, retail outlets, manufacturing industries, households, hotels, hospitals, restaurants and transport companies. An estimate 1,500 plastic bottles end up as waste in landfills or thrown in the ocean every second. These statistics are related to plastic water bottles ALONE! According to the EPA, about 30% of recyclable plastic bottles and jars were actually recycled in 2015. 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