Most plastic gets recycled
Of approximately 300 million tonnes of plastic waste generated globally in 2023, only about 17 percent was collected for recycling and only 12 percent was actually recycled after sorting losses.
What we know
Since plastics were industrially produced at scale beginning in the 1950s, approximately 8.3 billion metric tonnes have been produced globally. Of the plastic waste generated through 2015, only about 9 percent had been recycled, 12 percent incinerated, and 79 percent accumulated in landfills or the natural environment, according to an analysis published in Science Advances.
The 2023 Global Plastics Flow Study found 414 million tonnes of plastic produced in 2023, generating 300 million tonnes of plastic waste. Of this, 17 percent (51 million tonnes) was collected for recycling, but sorting and processing losses reduce the actually recycled fraction to 12 percent (37 million tonnes). Some 87 million tonnes (29 percent) was improperly disposed of through illegal dumping, open burning, or littering.
There are several reasons for these low rates. Plastic comes in many chemically distinct polymer types (PET, HDPE, PVC, LDPE, PP, PS, and others) that cannot be mixed in recycling. Food contamination downgrades recyclable value. Market economics often make virgin plastic cheaper than recycled material. And many products labeled with a resin code number inside a triangle are technically recyclable in laboratory settings but not in practice with current collection and sorting infrastructure. Consumer confusion between technical recyclability and actual recycling perpetuates the myth.
Common claims
- If I put plastic in the recycling bin, it gets recycledOften false - contamination, sorting limits, and market forces prevent much plastic from being recycled
- The recycling triangle symbol means plastic is recyclableMisleading - the symbol indicates polymer type, not that the item will actually be recycled
- Global plastic recycling rate is around 50 percentFalse - global rate is approximately 12 percent