Plastic production is increasing and recycling is stagnant

Image credit: Plastics News/Recycle Minnesota

An April 17, 2025, study reported in Plastics News confirms that plastic production is expanding, as predicted by many sources, with most new plastic still made from fossil fuels. "362 million metric tons (Mt) are produced as plastic virgin resin production and around 38 Mt are generated as secondary plastics from plastic mechanical recycling ... 44% of the virgin resin was derived from coal, 40% from petroleum, 8% from natural gas, 5% from coke and 1% from other sources. Only 2% of the global plastics feedstocks are generated from bio sources.” The April 6, 2025, study in the journal Communications Earth & Environment also reported that:

• Incineration is emerging as a prominent waste disposal method (34%),
• Landfill use is decreasing substantially at 40%, and
• Recycling is stagnant at 9%.

A total of 382.12 Mt of plastics entered the use stage in 2022, with the following breakdown

• 158.04 Mt in packaging,
• 72.05 Mt in building and construction,
• 32.02 Mt in automotive,
• 28.02 Mt in electrical and electronics,
• 28.01 Mt in household and textile,
• 16.01 Mt in agriculture, and
• 48.03 Mt in others. 

“The global annual production of plastics grew from 2 Mt in 1950 to 400 Mt in 2022, at an annual growth rate of 8.4%.”

The study reports that even with an international effort to reduce plastic production, “a comprehensive analysis of global plastics stocks and flows along the whole supply chain has not been examined.” There have only been regional and national studies.