Pew Charitable Trusts finds plastic pollution will more than double globally by 2040 unless action taken
The 66m tonnes of pollution from plastic packaging that enters the global environment each year could be almost eliminated by 2040 primarily by reuse and return schemes, significant new research reveals.
In the most wide-ranging analysis of the global plastic system, the Pew Charitable Trusts, in collaboration with academics including at Imperial College London and the University of Oxford, said plastic, a material once called revolutionary and modern, was now putting public health, world economies and the future of the planet at risk.
If nothing is done, plastic pollution will more than double in the next 15 years to 280m metric tonnes a year, the equivalent to a rubbish truck full of plastic waste being dumped every second. Much of the waste is made up of packaging.
The single largest source of plastic waste across the world comes from packaging, which is used once then thrown away, and much of which is not recyclable. In 2025 it made up 33% globally of plastic waste, causing 66m tonnes of pollution to enter the environment each year.
But packaging pollution could be almost eliminated with concerted action such as deposit return schemes and reuse – where consumers take empty boxes or refillable cups to supermarkets and cafes. Combined with bans on certain polymers and substituting plastic for other materials, plastic pollution could be cut by 97% in the next 15 years, the research found.
“We have the ability to transform this, and nearly eliminate plastic pollution from packaging,” said Winnie Lau, project director, preventing plastic pollution, at the Pew Foundation.
Reuse and return schemes could help eliminate plastic pollution in 15 years, says report | Plastics | The Guardian