Can the World Kick Its Addiction to Plastic?

Every year we are growing increasingly addicted to plastics. Despite efforts to reduce the production of single-use plastics, the global dependence on them keeps on growing. Global plastics production has risen dramatically over the last hundred years, increasing almost 230-fold between 1950 and 2019. According to the OECD, the global production of plastics doubled between 2000 and 2019, reaching 460 million tonnes. It is expected to almost triple by 2060, reaching 1,231 million tonnes. Meanwhile, only 9 percent of this plastic is recycled, with…