Here's How Much Plastic Trash Is Littering the Earth
Transcript
A shocking amount of plastic bottles cover the seafloor off Xiaoliuqiu Island, Taiwan … an example of how plastics become waste that can pollute our environment.
A new study found that by 2015, humans had produced 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic waste.
Of that total waste, only 9% was recycled …
12% was incinerated …
and 79% was discarded in landfills or the natural environment.
According to the study’s estimates, roughly 12 billion metric tons of plastic waste will end up in landfills or the natural environment by 2050.
