The Minderoo Foundation rolled out its “Plastic Waste Makers Index” and to say that it contained some interesting revelations would be an understatement. For starters, it was found out that more than 50% of the world’s single-use plastic waste is being produced by 20 companies alone.
For the index, The Minderoo Foundation examined almost 1,000 factories and discovered that petrochemical firms are the main culprits. Among these firms, ExxonMobil secured the worst ranking as it generated about 5.9 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste in 2019. Dow and Sinopec were responsible for contributing more than five million tonnes each.
Moreover, the study analyzed the countries guilty of producing the most single-use plastic waste per capita. With its average citizen generating close to 59 kg of bottles, packages, and miscellaneous plastic waste in 2019, Australia took the top spot.
Additionally, the US took the second spot with an average American responsible for 53 kg of single-use plastic waste in 2019.
What’s surprising is the fact that countries with enormous populations such as China and India didn’t perform as badly as one might have expected them to. China’s per capita single-use plastic waste turned out to be 18 kg only. As for India, the study found this number to be 4 kg.
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For the index, The Minderoo Foundation examined almost 1,000 factories and discovered that petrochemical firms are the main culprits. Among these firms, ExxonMobil secured the worst ranking as it generated about 5.9 million tonnes of single-use plastic waste in 2019. Dow and Sinopec were responsible for contributing more than five million tonnes each.
Moreover, the study analyzed the countries guilty of producing the most single-use plastic waste per capita. With its average citizen generating close to 59 kg of bottles, packages, and miscellaneous plastic waste in 2019, Australia took the top spot.
Additionally, the US took the second spot with an average American responsible for 53 kg of single-use plastic waste in 2019.
What’s surprising is the fact that countries with enormous populations such as China and India didn’t perform as badly as one might have expected them to. China’s per capita single-use plastic waste turned out to be 18 kg only. As for India, the study found this number to be 4 kg.
