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Global primary plastic waste generation by polymer, 2019

Polymers are color-coded to indicate recyclability: green for widely recycled, blue for moderately recycled, orange for limited recyclability, red for usuallynon-recycled, and violet for unknown recyclability.

62 million t57.56 million t51.76 million t49.21 million t44.71 million t24.81 million t21.2 million t15.17 million t11.34 million t7.28 million t5.09 million t2.1 million t579,552 t483,028 tPPOtherFibresLDPE, LLDPEHDPEPETPVCPSPURABS, ASA, SANElastomers (tyres)BioplasticsRoad marking coatingsMarine coatings

Data source: OECD (2022) – Learn more about this data

OurWorldinData.org/plastic-pollution |

Note: Polymer types are as follows: Acrylonitrile Butadiene (AB), Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate (ASA), Styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN), Polyurethane (PUR), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polystyrene(PS), Linear Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE), Polypropylene (PP), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE).

Global primary plastic waste generation by polymer

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