Humans have created 8.3 billion metric tons of plastics since large-scale production of the synthetic materials began in the early 1950s, and most of it now resides in landfills or the natural environment, according to a study.
If current trends continue, roughly 12 billion metric tons of plastic waste will be in landfills or the natural environment by 2050. Twelve billion metric tons is about 35,000 times as heavy as the Empire State Building.
An overwhelming majority of packaging plastics are acquired and discarded within the same year. In 2015, 146 million metric tons of polymer plastics went into use as packaging, but 141 million metric tons were thrown out.