As of 2015, 5.5 bn t of plastics had not been recycled, which accumulate in landfills or the natural environment, and this amount accounted for 79% of global production since the 1950s. These figures are the result of research by scientists at the University of Georgia and the University of California, Santa Barbara. The work was published in the journal Science Advances (www.advances.sciencemag.org).

According to the researchers, whose computations are based on production data for various polymers, the volume of plastics rose from 2m t/y in 1950 by 19,000% to 380m t/y in 2015. This constitutes an average annual growth rate of about 8.4%. The scientists estimate that 8.3 bn t of virgin plastics have been produced to date and this is forecast to rise to 12 bn t by 2050. Notably, only 9% of the corresponding plastic waste has been recycled, while 12% has been incinerated.

In 2017, plastics rank as the third most-used man-made material, right after steel and cement. The scientists especially criticise the extremely short life cycle of plastics compared to others. This has led to a gigantic dimension of waste; around the North Pole, the amount has quadrupled in the last 10 years.

Even recycling is not immune to criticism, since reusing plastics simply acts as a delay and does not prevent it from becoming waste eventually. Neither caterpillars that eat plastics nor biodegradable polymers will solve the problem that the “material of the 21st century” poses for planet Earth.

Ultimately, it is not the researchers' goal to have people relinquish plastics, but rather striving to search for innovative solutions as to what to do with the waste.