Over the last twenty years, plastic waste recycling has considerably increased worldwide, as the chart shows.
OECD countries in the European Union, India, and China have spearheaded this growth. By 2019, recycling rates were 12–13%. Non-OECD Asian countries and Latin America have also made headway, but more slowly.
The United States and the Middle East & North Africa region have seen more sluggish advances, with the US only managing to reach a 4.5% recycling rate by 2019, according to the OECD data.
Different regional strategies and capacities have led to markedly different outcomes in plastic waste management.
