Earth Day 2024: Planet Vs. Plastic

Born in 1970, Earth Day has evolved into one of the largest civic events of all time. When we observe the 54th Earth Day on April 22, the health and safety of the planet couldn’t be timelier, especially when it comes to dealing with the proliferation of plastic.

Over the past 60 years, around eight billion tons of plastic has been produced, according to a recent study in the journal Science Advances — 90.5 per cent of which has not been recycled. As a result, this year’s Earth Day theme— “Planet vs. Plastic”— demands a 60% reduction in the production of all plastics by 2040.

Just how big of a challenge is this? What type of numbers are we talking about? Here’s some perspective:

In 1950, the world produced just two million tons of plastic. We now produce over 450 million tons.

Half of all plastics ever manufactured have been made in the last 15 years.

Production is expected to double by 2050.

More than one million plastic water bottles are sold every minute.

Every year, about 11 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the ocean.