WHO MAKES SINGLE USE PLASTIC?

Globe shrouded in platic bag

Just 20 companies are responsible for producing more than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the world, according to new research.

The Plastic Waste Makers index shows that, among the global businesses responsible for 55% of the world’s plastic packaging waste, are state-owned and multinational corporations, including oil and gas giants and chemical companies,

Australia tops a list of countries for generating the most single-use plastic waste on a per capita basis, ahead of the United States, South Korea and Britain.

The article in The Guardian also notes that the plastic waste crisis is growing every year, with global capacity to produce virgin polymers for single-use plastics potentially increasing by more than 30% over the next five years.