New Study Points to Stagnant Global Plastic Recycling Rates

Scrap Metal News  |  2025-04-23 14:17:25   |   By

The findings of the study were published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Despite a significant increase in plastic manufacturing worldwide, a recent study by researchers from Chinese Tsinghua University indicates that global plastic recycling rates are still stagnating at less than 10%. According to the study, the vast majority of the new plastics are still produced using fossil fuels, which puts the environment at serious risk.

The findings of the study were published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment.

The researchers pointed out that thorough supply chain study of plastics has been severely lacking. Only around 9.5% of the 400 million tons of new plastic produced worldwide in 2022 came from recycled materials, according to a thorough investigation of the plastics industry. They claimed that there hasn't been much of an increase in recycling rates in recent years.

The lowest recycling rate, at over 5%, is found in the United States, which consumes the most plastic per person.

The majority of plastic garbage still ends up in landfills, but the amount of plastic waste burned has been steadily increasing.

Fossil fuels, particularly gas and oil, are used to make the remaining polymers. Global efforts to slow down climate change will be slowed down by the growing reliance on fossil fuel feedstock for the production of new polymers.

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