• WEATHER: Hurricane Milton to batter Florida (Graphic DUE Oct 7, 14:00GMT)
  • CONFLICT: Israel intensifies Lebanon attacks (Illustration DUE Oct 7, 15:00GMT)
  • For full details of graphics available/in preparation, see Menu -> Planners
 Plásticos de un solo uso infographic
El gráfico muestra productores de plásticos de un solo uso.
GN43891ES

AMBIENTE

Plásticos de un solo uso

By Duncan Mil

February 6, 2023 - Más de 130 millones de toneladas de plástico de un solo uso se
desecharon en 2019, y fueron solo 20 productores los que generaron casi la mitad de todos los residuos plásticos de un solo uso a nivel global.

“Of all the plastics, single-use are the most likely to end up in our ocean, where they account for almost all visible pollution, in the range of five to 13 million tonnes each year,” Australia’s Minderoo Foundation said in its Plastic Waste Makers Index on Monday (February 6).

But while growth has slowed recently, the production of single-use plastic from “virgin” fossil fuel sources is still nowhere near its peak, and the use of recycled feedstocks remains “at best a marginal activity,” the report said.

In 2019, just 20 polymer producers accounted for almost 60 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste generated globally.

U.S.-based ExxonMobil and Dow and China’s Sinopec top the list, with these three companies accounting for 16 per cent of global single-use plastic waste.

The Minderoo Foundation reports that 20 institutional asset managers -- led by U.S. companies Vanguard Group, BlackRock and Capital Group -- hold over US$300 billion worth of shares in the parent companies of these polymer producers.

An estimated $10 billion comes from producing virgin polymers for single-use plastics. Twenty of the world’s largest banks, including Barclays, HSBC and Bank of America, are estimated to have lent almost $30 billion for producing these polymers since 2011.

Minderoo estimates the polymer industry produced 137 million tonnes of single-use plastics from fossil fuels in 2021.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 06/02/2023; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Getty Images
Advertisement