Future of the Environment

Picture this: all the plastic we have produced weighs the same as 25,000 Empire State Buildings

Plastics produced globally every year has increased from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to 381 million in 2015. Image: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

John McKenna
Senior Writer, Formative Content
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Future of the Environment

Image: PlasticsEurope, Plastics - the Facts (2013)
A gull picks at plastic trash in a parking lot before sunset at Stearns Wharf in Santa Barbara, California July 30, 2015. Picture taken July 30, 2015. REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon - RTX1MM1K
Image: REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon
Image: “The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the Future of Plastics”, World Economic Forum
Soburn, an 11-year-old girl, collects what can be used as food for pigs at landfill dumpsite outside Siem Reap March 19, 2015. A second-grade student, she helps her parents in the morning collecting usable items at the dumpsite where they live before going to school in the afternoon. Anlong Pi, an eight-hectare dumpsite situated close to the famous Cambodian resort province of Siem Reap, has recently become a tourist attraction in its own right. Sightseers pose for pictures with children who scavenge scraps for a living, making between $0.25 and $2 per day, according to a representative of a company overseeing the waste. Michelle Obama is due to visit to Cambodia to promote Let Girls Learn, a worldwide initiative that aims to help adolescent girls attend school. REUTERS/Athit PerawongmethaPICTURE 8 OF 23 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY 'LIVING ON RUBBISH'SEARCH 'ANLONG PI' FOR ALL IMAGES - RTR4U4KB
Image: REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
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Related topics:
Future of the EnvironmentFuture of ConsumptionCircular Economy
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