Plastic Waste - Estimations from 1990 to 2019

The dataset displays estimations of plastic waste by end-of-life fate and collected for recycling, in million tonnes (t) of plastic. This dataset provides estimates of plastics waste for the 15 global regions of the OECD ENV-Linkages model, detailed in the Annex of the OECD Global Plastics Outlook. 

Additional information: Plastic waste is calculated as a function of plastics use (in volumes), following Geyer, Jambeck and Law (2017), using a methodology based on lifespan distributions. Plastic waste collected for recycling is estimated by applying the shares of collected for recycling on plastics waste. Plastic waste is divided into different waste management streams (end-of-life fates) by applying end-of-life shares that vary across countries and that account for account for recycling losses and collected litter. The complete methodology can be found in the Annex of the OECD Global Plastics Outlook.

Contact: [email protected]

Data source(s) used: OECD Global Plastics Outlook, OECD ENV-Linkages model, Geyer, Jambeck and Law (2017)