WOBO thanks edie for the link to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Report.

The OECD has launched a global stocktake of plastic production and pollution, warning that the growth of the plastics market has outpaced economic growth by almost 40%. Here, edie summarises the key findings from the report.

The OECD has this morning published a major new report on the production, use and disposal of plastics globally. The report, entitled “The Global Plastics Outlook”, uses global, country and sector-level data to show how plastic production, use and waste has grown in recent decades.

The headline finding from the report is that population growth, coupled with higher disposable income, has led to plastics production doubling in volume between 2000 and 2019 to 460 million tonnes (Mt). In this same period, the growth of plastics volumes outpaced economic growth by almost 40%, according to the report.

The OECD’s secretary-general Mathias Cormann believes that the report can help inform nations to set new policies to combat a rise in plastics pollution.

“The OECD stands ready to assist governments in making this transition by designing, developing and delivering better policies to eliminate the negative environmental impacts of plastics production and ultimately achieve plastics-free oceans and rivers for future generations,” Cormann said.

“As the challenges associated with plastics production, namely growing leakage and greenhouse gas emissions, are transboundary in nature, it will also be crucial that countries respond to the challenge with coordinated and global solutions.”

The dramatic rise in production over a near-two-decade period has also impacted the amount of plastic pollution seeping into the natural environment. Here, edie pulls out all the key stats from the Global Plastics Outlook report.   Read more….

The facts and figures: The global state of plastics production and pollution