Just 12 countries are responsible for 60% of the world’s mismanaged plastic waste, the top five being China, USA, India, Brazil, and Mexico
A labourer sifts through plastic waste for recycling in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo: iStock
A whopping 220 million tonnes of plastic waste are set to be generated in 2024, a new study has shown.
There has been a steady rise in plastic waste of nearly 10 per cent (7.11 per cent) since 2021. The global average plastic waste per person this year will rise to 28 kilograms.
“Just 12 countries are responsible for 60 per cent of the world’s mismanaged plastic waste, the top five being China, USA, India, Brazil, and Mexico,” the Plastic Overshoot Day report released on April 11, 2024 by Swiss non-profit EA Earth Action noted.
The report has been released ahead of the fourth round of negotiations for a UN Global Plastics Treaty in Ottawa, Canada.
‘Drowning in waste’
Last year, the world had marked the first ever ‘Global Plastic Overshoot Day’. That was the date when the amount of plastic waste generated globally exceeded the world’s capacity to manage it.
This year, Global Plastic Overshoot Day lands on September 5, 2024, the report predicted.
Read India among the 12 countries responsible for 52% of the world’s mismanaged plastic waste: Report
This year’s report has included plastic waste from the textile industry and household waste into its analysis. Last year, the inaugural report had analysed plastic packaging waste alone.
“Using the revised scope, Plastic Overshoot Day 2023 would have landed on the 4th September, meaning a one-day reprieve for this year’s date,” a statement by EA Earth Action noted.
However, the researchers found that almost 50 per cent of the world’s populations since April 2024 have been living in areas where plastic waste generated has already exceeded the capacity to manage it.
The figure is projected to rise to 66 per cent by September 5, 2024 indicating the pressures placed on developing countries by the plastic pollution crisis.
“To track the issue at a national level, each country has its own Plastic Overshoot Day which is determined by the amount of plastic waste generated and the country’s capacity to manage it. There are 117 days of plastic overshoot, meaning that the plastic waste produced during these days will not be well managed,” a statement by EA Earth Action noted.
Sarah Perreard, Co-CEO, at EA Earth Action & Plastic Footprint Network, said: “The findings are unequivocal; improvements in waste management capacity are outpaced by rising plastic production, making progress almost invisible. The assumption that recycling and waste management capacity will solve the plastics crisis is flawed.”
“Ahead of UN Plastic Treaty negotiations in Ottawa, we call for a steadfast pursuit of science-driven, robust global policy that matches the scale of the plastic pollution problem,” she added.
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