Scientists know how much plastic mankind has produced in its history
Large-scale production of synthetic materials began in the 1950s, and since then people have created 8.3 billion plastic, most of which now rots in landfills or pollute the environment.
The study was published in the journal Science Advances. Briefly about him can be found on EurekAlert!
A team of researchers from the University of Georgia, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Sea Education Association (SEA) decided to find out how much plastic was produced by the mankind for all time.
In 1950, the plant has produced 2 million tons of plastic, and in 2015 — 400 million, which exceeds the production of other materials used in the construction industry and for packaging.
By 2015, humanity has produced 8.3 billion tons of plastics, of which 6.3 billion tons of steel waste.
Only 9% of the total number of plastics was recycled, 12% was burned, and the remaining 79% is stored in landfills or litters the environment.
In the study, scientists created a statistical database production of resins, synthetic fibers and additives, and then compared the available data on consumption of plastics.
Jenna Jambeck, one of the authors, said that most plastics are not susceptible to rapid biological degradation and can persist for several hundreds of years. If trends remain the same by 2050 in landfills and in nature, will accumulate approximately 12 billion tons of plastic waste that 35 thousand times heavier than the Empire state building.