Plastic has become one of the world's most popular materials, combining amazing functionality and very low production costs. Its use has increased 20-fold in the past 50 years and is expected to double again in the next 20 years.

 

Almost everybody in the world comes into contact with it -- over a quarter of all plastic is used for packaging, the most popular use of the material.

 

But only 14% of plastic packaging is collected for recycling. The reuse rate is terrible compared to other materials -- 58% of paper and up to 90% of iron and steel gets recycled.

 

It gets worse. Almost a third of all plastic packaging escapes collection systems and ends up in nature or clogging² up infrastructure³.

 

"After a short first-use cycle, 95% of plastic packaging material value, or $80 billion to $120 billion annually⁴, is lost to the economy," the WEF said in a report.

 

The report is based on interviews with over 180 experts and on analysis of over 200 reports.

 

They estimate⁵ that by 2050, the amount of plastics produced globally will increase three times to 1,124 million tons. By then, the "plastic economy" will take up 15% of the world's global carbon budget, compared to just 1% today.

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