STUDY: Less than 10% of plastic comes from recycled materials
04/18/2025 / By Laura Harris
- Only 9.5 percent of the 400 million tons of plastic produced globally in 2022 came from recycled materials, with 98 percent of the rest still made from virgin fossil fuels.
- 158 million tons went to packaging – mostly discarded after one use – while only half of collected plastic for recycling was reprocessed.
- Just 27.9 percent of plastic waste was recycled; the rest was incinerated (releasing toxins), landfilled (slow to decompose) or mismanaged (polluting oceans/land).
- Despite corporate sustainability pledges, plastic production is tied to fossil fuels and recycling systems remain ineffective, serving as a “distraction tactic” to hide rising production.
- Experts warn that phasing out plastic production – not recycling – is the real solution to curb pollution, climate impacts and health risks for future generations.
A new study has revealed that less than a tenth of the 400 million tons of plastic produced worldwide is made from recycled materials, with the vast majority still derived from fossil fuels like coal and oil.
The study, published in Communications Earth and Environment, highlights the persistent failure of recycling systems to keep pace with skyrocketing plastic production – now 400 million metric tons annually, up from just two million in 1950.
The research, led by Quanyin Tan and colleagues, analyzed 2022 data and found that only 9.5 percent (38 million tons) of plastic came from recycled sources, while 98 percent of the rest – 362 million tons – was produced from virgin fossil fuels.
Of the 400 million tons of plastic produced in 2022, 158 million tons went into packaging – nearly all of it thrown away after a single use; more than half was used in construction, textiles, electronics and automotive sectors; and only half of the plastic collected for recycling (75 million tons) was actually reprocessed.
Despite decades of corporate sustainability pledges from supermarkets, beverage companies and manufacturers, plastic remains deeply tied to the fossil fuel industry.
Even more alarming, only 27.9 percent of plastic waste was actually recycled in 2022. Thirty-four percent of plastic waste was incinerated (releasing toxic emissions), 40 percent dumped in landfills (taking centuries to decompose) and 11 percent mismanaged (polluting land and oceans).
Moreover, the research revealed that the U.S. leads per capita plastic use, reflecting high disposable plastic consumption, while China tops total plastic consumption at 80 million tons a year, driven by manufacturing and packaging demands.
Recycling is a broken system and the planet is paying the price
For decades, the plastic industry has misled the public into believing that recycling could solve the growing crisis of plastic waste. But the study authors confirm what environmentalists have long warned: Recycling is a broken system, and the planet is paying the price. (Related: Recycling plastic turns out to be WORSE for the environment than just throwing it away… recycling SPREADS microplastic pollution.)
They wrote: “This paradox amplifies the dilemma: While plastics contribute to fossil fuel dependence and pervasive pollution issues, they simultaneously provide environmental benefits in terms of reduced emissions and energy efficiency. The lack of viable alternatives to plastics that can be implemented on a global scale presents a significant challenge in the quest for sustainable solutions.”
Laura Burley, a Greenpeace U.K. plastics team leader who responded to the study, echoed a similar statement.
“Many of us are disturbed by plastic pollution and the harm it poses to wildlife and our health. But there’s much less awareness that – despite all our best efforts to sort household waste – plastic recycling is basically a load of rubbish. The recycling myth is Big Oil’s distraction tactic so people don’t realize they actually keep producing more and more new plastic from oil, fueling the climate crisis, as well as polluting the planet. The real solution is to stop making so much plastic in the first place,” Burley said.
In line with this, Sian Sutherland, the co-founder of A Plastic Planet and Plastic Health Council, warned the public that “unless we start phasing out plastic for good, we’re just digging a deeper hole, for our health, our planet that nurtures us, and the generations to come.”
Visit Microplastics.news for more stories about the adverse effects of plastic waste and microplastics on the environment and human health.
Plastic recycling is an actual scam. Watch this video.
This video is from the Exit Babylon channel on Brighteon.com.
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The plastics industry knew RECYCLING WOULDN’T WORK, and not plastic waste is POISONING the planet.
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