Explore how much plastic humanity uses, what it is made of, what we use it for, and where it goes after use.
Plastic Atlas is a source-first data service on global plastics, developed by the From Waste to Resource (W2R) lab at the Technion. It brings trusted international datasets together in one place and keeps every number traceable to its source.
Figures on production, use, waste and pollution come from different organisations and are rarely shown side by side.
Production, use and waste are related but different quantities. Mixing them up leads to misleading comparisons.
Once a figure is quoted and re-quoted, its year, method and whether it was measured or modelled are often lost.
The atlas does not produce its own estimates. It collects, labels and connects data published by international organisations and peer-reviewed research (see Sources), and follows plastic as a material flow: what it is made of, what it is used for, how it becomes waste and where that waste goes.
No value is stored without the information needed to check it.
| source | The organisation and publication the value comes from. |
| version | Which release or edition of that source was used. |
| unit | What is counted, e.g. million tonnes (Mt) or % share. |
| geography | World, region, country or city. |
| method | How the source produced the value. |
| status | Reported (measured) or modelled (estimated). |
A starting point for plastics figures, with the original source always one click away.
A consistent overview of where plastic is used and where it ends up, to support better decisions.
A clear, visual way to understand the scale of plastic use and waste.
Polymer families behave differently, go into different products, and enter the waste stream at different speeds.
Packaging dominates global plastic demand, but construction and transportation lock large volumes into long-lived products.
Use and waste are different views of the system: durable products stay in the economy for years, while packaging becomes waste quickly.
OECD estimates for 15 world regions from 1990 to 2019, continued with the OECD baseline projection to 2060. Each country takes the colour of the region it belongs to in the OECD model.
Historical global plastics production was about 2 Mt in 1950. OECD estimates global plastics use at 460 Mt in 2019 and projects 1,231 Mt in 2060 under its baseline scenario. Production and use are related but not identical measures.
OECD estimates that two-thirds of current plastics use is concentrated in OECD countries and China.
The production data model should retain source, version, unit, geography, method and modeled/reported status for every observation.