Discover 1-2

80%

60%

50%

40%

10%

2010

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

15,000

RATE

—

— Incinerate

— e

——DiscarDiscardd

—— InIncineratecinerate

—— RecRecycleycle

RATERATE

100 100%%

9 90% 0 %

80%80%

7 70%0%

60 60%%

5 50%0%

4 40% 0 %

30 30%%

20%20%

10 10%%

0%0%

1980 1990 2000 1980 1990 2000 20201010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2020 2030 2040 2050

PAST FUTURE PROJECTIONSPAST FUTURE PROJECTIONS

MILLION

TONS

New plastic waste

generated*

Discarded

—

Recycled

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 20501950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050

25 25,000, 000

20 20,000, 000

15,00015,000

10 10,000, 000

5,005,000 0

00

—— New plastic wasteNew plastic waste

ggenerated*enerated*

——Discarded Discarded

—— Incinerated Incinerated

——RecycleRecycledd

YEAYEARR

YYEAREAR

MILLIMILLIONON

METRIMETRICC

TTONSONS

66 DISCOVERMAGAZINE.COM

ALISON MACKEY/DISCOVER; ILLUSTRATIONS BY PANDA VECTOR/SHUTTERSTOCK

OUR TRASHY LEGACY

❯

8.3 BILLION METRIC TONS. That’s how much plastic humanity

has produced thus far, according to a study published in July in

Science Advances. Of that, nearly 80 percent has been thrown

out (as opposed to recycled or burned), which means over 6 billion

tons of plastic waste is strewn about our planet. A portion of it ends

up in the ocean, where it can float for years or wash ashore on pristine

islands. One remote South Pacific island had accumulated an estimated

38 million pieces of plastic trash as of 2015. Here’s a breakdown of how

we use plastics and where they end up. — NATHANIEL SCHARPING

* Plastic created from virgin, non-recycled materials

GLOBAL TRENDS IN

PLASTIC DISPOSAL

CUMULATIVE PLASTIC

WASTE GENERATION

AND DISPOSAL

HOW HEAVY IS

8.3 BILLION

METRIC TONS?

296,000,000,000,000

20 OZ. SODA BOTTLES

1,660,000,000,000,000

CREDIT CARDS

3,150,000,000,000,000

BOTTLE CAPS

6,150,000,000,000,000

2X2 LEGO BRICKS

SOURCE: “PRODUCTION, USE, AND FATE OF ALL

PLASTICS EVER MADE,” SCIENCE ADVANCES, 2017