Plastic pollution
we can make things better
2015
1950
Plastic waste has a
significant impact on
the environment
Every day, a gigantic amount
of plastic leaks into the
environment, the seas and
oceans (5 to13 million t/year).
It stays there for a very long time,
damaging nature and the ecosystems
that support life on Earth. To prevent
this leakage, we need to manage
waste better and we need to see
plastic waste as a valuable resource.
Almost 40% of plastics is used for
packaging. Raising recycling rates
and stopping plastic packaging from
becoming litter aren’t easy, but
they must be done.
MARINE LITTER
In the sea and the ocean, plastics disintegrate into tiny pieces, which are
eaten by plankton, which are eaten by fish… which can end up in our food.
On land, some plastic items can take
400 years
to break down.
To make plastic,
you need precious resources:
WORLD-WIDE
PLASTIC
PRODUCTION
EXPLODED
1.5
MILLION
t/year
322
MILLION
t/year
DID YOU KNOW?
In every km
2
of water of the
Mediterranean Sea, there
are around 40 pieces of
marine litter
The EU Commission aims
at reducing marine litter
by 30% by 2020
Fossil
feedstocks
Water Energy
Source: Sciencemag
Plastic use has grown steadily in the EU,
but recycling lags far behind.
Source: Expeditions Foundation
In 2014,
less than a third
of Europe’s plastic waste was
recycled, another third ended up
in landfills, and from the rest
only the energy was recovered.
Again in 2014, although
more than 65%
of all packaging waste was
recycled in the EU,
less than 40%
of plastic
packaging waste was recycled.
Source : PlasticsEurope
Source: PlasticsEurope
Source: Eurostat
