The OECD report outlines the growing plastic pollution crisis, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive understanding of its lifecycle, economic drivers, and environmental impacts. It highlights key levers for intervention, such as boosting markets for recycled plastics, fostering innovation for circular plastics, and enhancing international cooperation and domestic policy ambition. The analysis also notes the significant economic costs associated with reducing plastic leakage and the fragmented policy landscape across various countries.

1. Global Plastics Outlook
Economic Drivers, Environmental
Impacts and Policy Options
22 February 2022
OECD Book Launch
Shardul Agrawala
Head, Environment and Economy Integration (EEI) Division
Environment Directorate, OECD
Join the conversation on Twitter:
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#PlasticsOutlook
@OECD_ENV

2. 2
Growing interest for “Plastic pollution”
Search interest globally relative to the highest point on the chart.
Values are normalised to January 2004 values.
Source: Google trends

3. Granularity of plastics use and waste
Economic drivers of plastics demand
Short- and long- term impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic
Key levers to reduce the environmental impacts
3
What do we need to know more about?

4. First comprehensive mapping of the lifecycle of
plastics globally
High-level of granularity: primary and secondary
production, 14 polymer categories, various applications.
Detailed insights on leakage to land, water and air.
Novel analysis of effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
4
The Global Plastics Outlook
Novel empirical analysis of plastics innovation.
Domestic plastics policy landscape covering 50
countries.
First quantification of global costs to halt leakage.

5. Key Findings
5

6. 6
Global use of plastics is growing steadily…
In million tonnes (Mt), 1950-2021
156 kg
per capita /year in OECD
39 kg
per capita /year in non-OECD
1.8 Gt
GHG emissions
generated annually
45 500
Global Financial
Crisis
COVID-19
40%
quicker growth
than GDP in
2000-2019

7. Packaging
40%
Consumer
products
12%
Textiles
11%
Other
applications
37%
7
In 2019, plastic waste generation amounted to 353 Mt

8. 8
The plastics lifecycle is only 8% circular

9. 9
The plastics lifecycle is only 8% circular
22 Mt
of leakage

10. Rivers are a key pathway and sink for aquatic leakage
10

11. How did the COVID-19
pandemic impact plastics use
and waste?
11

12. 12
In 2020, COVID-19 disrupted plastics use in various
and opposing ways
2.2% decrease in plastics use in 2020

13. …But weight is not always a good proxy for
environmental impacts
13

14. How to intervene?

15. Bolster markets
for recycled
plastics
Boost
innovation for
more circular
plastics
Scale-up
international
financing and
co-operation
Increase
ambition of
domestic
policies
15
Key levers for intervention
15

16. Secondary production remains marginal
(only 6% of total plastics production)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Million
tonnes
(Mt)
Secondary
Primary
16
Lever #1: Markets for recycled plastics

17. 17
Lever #1: Markets for recycled plastics
Barriers to higher recycling
•High costs of collection, sorting and processing
•Lack of differentiated demand from primary plastics
•Low market resilience

18. Demand pull measures such as recycled content standards and green
procurement
Supply push measures such as Extended Producer Responsibility
schemes or R&D support for recycling technologies can lower costs
Eco-design and information requirements and bans on hazardous
substances can improve the quality of secondary feedstock
Level the playing field by pricing externalities of use of primary plastics
18
Lever #1: How to bolster markets for recycled plastics?

19. Key levers for intervention
Bolster markets
for recycled
plastics
Boost
innovation for
more circular
plastics
Scale-up
international
financing and
co-operation
Increase
ambition of
domestic
policies
19

20. 20
Lever #2: Environmentally relevant innovation for plastics
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
Worldwide
number
of
patented
inventions
Biobased feedstock Conversion or disposal of waste and leakage removal
Waste recycling (sorting, recycling, recyclability) Waste prevention (reuse, repair, reduction, durability)
1.2% of
total plastics
innovation

21. 21
Lever #2: How to boost innovation for circular plastics?
Measure circular plastics innovation
Strengthen framework conditions for such innovation
Price environmental externalities of primary plastics
Strengthen policies to incentivise design for circularity, boost demand for
secondary plastics, close plastics loops, and curb plastics leakage in the
environment

22. Key levers for intervention
Bolster markets
for recycled
plastics
Boost
innovation for
more circular
plastics
Scale-up
international
financing and
co-operation
Increase
ambition of
domestic
policies
22

23. • Closing plastic leakage pathways in low and middle
income countries will cost EUR 25 Billion a year
• However, international co-operation needs to be much
broader than financing for waste management
• Plastics value chain is increasingly
interconnected and globalised, requiring co-ordinated
action between countries
23
Lever #3: International co-operation

24. 24
Mobilise all sources of funding, including ODA, to close plastic leakage
Efficient use of such investments will also require effective legal
frameworks to enforce disposal obligations
Upstream action is also necessary to enhance plastics circularity
… including international alignment of design approaches, product policies,
and the regulation of chemical substances across countries
Lever #3: How to scale-up international co-operation?

25. Key levers for intervention
Bolster markets
for recycled
plastics
Boost
innovation for
more circular
plastics
Scale-up
international
financing and
co-operation
Increase
ambition of
domestic
policies
25

26. 26
Lever # 4: Coverage of domestic policies in 50 countries
shows a very fragmented landscape
Only 13 countries incentivise waste sorting at source
25 have policy instruments to incentivise recycling
33 have national regulations and operational schemes
for Extended Producer Responsibility
Several countries have bans and taxes on single-use
plastic items
The vast majority of countries do not have adequate
incentives in place

27. 27
Lever # 4: How to increase domestic policy ambition?

28. OECD Contributors
• Shardul Agrawala
• Maarten Dubois
• Elisa Lanzi
• Ruben Bibas
• Peter Börkey
• Andrew Brown
• Elena Buzzi
• Rob Dellink
• Damien Dussaux
• Jean Fouré
• Ivan Haščič
• Frithjof Laubinger
• Linda Livingstone
• Eleonora Mavroeidi
• Norbert Monti
• Daniel Ostalé Valriberas
• Daniel Prosi
• Pierra Tortora
• Shunta Yamaguchi
28
Acknowledgements
External Contributors
• Morten Ryberg (Technical University of Denmark)
• Teddy Serrano (Technical University of Denmark)
• Alexis Laurent (Technical University of Denmark)
• Costas A. Velis (University of Leeds)
• Ed Cook (University of Leeds)
• Josh Cottom (University of Leeds)
• Laurent Lebreton (The Ocean Cleanup)
• Nikolaos Evangeliou (Norwegian Institute for Air Research)
• Roland Geyer (University of California, Santa Barbara)
• Trinomics B.V.
• The Institute for Global Environmental Studies
• Prasad Modak (independent expert)
• Louis Tronel (independent expert)
• Flavio Ribeiro (independent expert)
• Darina Petrova (independent expert)

29. Thank you
Find out more about our work at:
www.oecd.org/environment/plastics
Join the conversation on Twitter:
#GreenTalks
@OECD_ENV
Image sources:
https://fordwarburton.wordpress.com/author/fordwarburton/ [The Graduate quote]
https://books.google.ca/books?id=xlYEAAAAMBAJ [Life Magazine 1 Aug 1955, p.43]
https://icons8.com/ [Eiffel tower icon]
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/article/seahorse-ocean-pollution [seahorse photo]
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6769208/ [Blue Planet II]
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bakelite_radio.jpg [Bakelite radio]
https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/alexander-parkes-living-in-a-material-world/ [Objects made from Parkesine]
Shutterstock
Pixabay.com image from CharlieYoon [image airplane & containers waste]
Icons: Freepik from flaticon.com
Pexels.com images from Markus Spiske [toys] and from Tom Fisk [waste]
https://www.thedailybeast.com/plastic-straws-sucked-for-our-taste-buds [Plastic straw ban]