Tonnes of invisible nanoplastics in the Wadden Sea
Pioneering research suggests the scale of invisible nanoplastics in the Wadden Sea, and points to the potential dangers for marine life.
New figures about plastic soup
Since the massive introduction of plastic after the Second World War, 8.3 billion tons of plastic has been produced. Of this, 6.3 billion tons ended up as waste. Of this waste plastic, only 9% is recycled and 12% incinerated. The remaining 79% has ended up in dumps or in the environment. The worldwide plastic production rose from 2 million tons in 1950 to over 400 million tons in 2015. About half of this was produced only in the last 13 years. If the current trend continues, by 2050 there will be an estimated 12 billion tons of plastic in dumps and in the environment. This is the first time that an estimate has been made of the world-wide production of plastic and what happens to it. The American research appeared in the journal Science Advances.
None of the plastics that are produced at large scale degrade in the environment. Of the 9% that is recycled, only 10% was made from previously recycled plastic. Recycling may lengthen the time it takes for the plastic to enter the environment, but it does not prevent it. Recycling is thus not a real solution for reducing the plastic soup.
Read more about this in our What to do with plastic waste? folder.
More news
Read more
Mea culpa from Ocean Conservancy for its influential 2015 report. Who will be next?
Industry can no longer deny adding to the plastic soup. Apologies are now being given for a report dating from 2015
€3bn INEOS plastics project finally faces court action
ClientEarth has taken the Flemish authorities to court to block petrochemicals giant INEOS’ plastics project.
Less plastic = less dependence on fossil fuels
Level one of the gas crisis issued. To be less dependent on fossil fuels, we can also use less plastic.
