PLASTIC WASTE MAKERS INDEX
THERE IS MORE SINGLE-USE PLASTIC WASTE THAN EVER BEFORE (139 MILLION TONNES IN 2021)
Despite rising consumer awareness, corporate attention, and regulation, an additional 6 million metric tons (MMT) of waste was generated in 2021 compared to 2019 — still almost entirely made from fossil fuel-based “virgin” feedstocks.
Meanwhile, the top 20 list of petrochemical companies producing virgin polymers bound for single-use plastic remains effectively unchanged. While global capacity to produce these polymers is expected grow slower than the historical rate (2.7 per cent CAGR in 2021-27 vs 3.9 per cent in 2005-20), this still equates to an additional 60 MMT by 2027, of which we expect 17 MMT to be bound for single-use plastics.
