2023-05-26 17:31:14
The amounts of plastic polluting our planet are enormous. And at the current rate of demand, their global use is expected to triple by 2060.
How big is the plastic waste problem ?
The amounts of plastic that pollute our planet are gigantic. Plastic is everywhere. Every year, for example, at least 8 million tons end up in the ocean, the equivalent of a garbage truck being unloaded every minute, according to a committee of experts from the American Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. A recent study by Plos One estimates that an average of 171 trillion plastic particles weighing a total of between 1.1 and 4.9 million tonnes were floating on the surface of the oceans in 2019.
Read alsoIn less than twenty years, an “exponential” increase in plastic in the oceans
How will this problem evolve in the coming decades? ?
At the current rate of demand, the global use of plastics is expected to triple between 2019 and 2060, from 460 to 1321 million tonnes, according to OECD forecasts. Their use should increase in all regions, but especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where it should be more than 6 times higher in 2060. The share of…
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