Companies That Produce the Most Plastic Waste Around the World

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): New Jersey’s plastic ban drew headlines recently after a study questioned its effectiveness. While the single-use bag ban lowered bag volume use, it increased consumption of alternative plastics, which are not recycled, according to Freedonia Custom Research. Indeed, despite worldwide attempts to reduce single-use plastics through consumer awareness, corporate efforts, and regulation, the opposite was true in 2021 compared to 2019.

In fact, one of the key findings of the Plastic Waste Makers Index 2023 report, published this year by the Minderoo Foundation, an Australia-based philanthropy, 6 million more metric tons of plastic waste was generated in 2021 compared to 2019 — almost entirely made from fossil fuel-based new plastic polymers. What’s more, greenhouse gas emissions from single-use plastics in 2021 were equivalent to about 450 MNT of carbon dioxide, or, according to the report, more than the total GHG emissions of the United Kingdom.

Within the industry, only 2% of single-use plastic came from recycled waste, though two companies are noted as making the strongest commitment. Far Eastern New Century and Indorama Ventures, which are among the companies producing most plastic waste, are also producing on par recycled polymers at scale.

The report notes that “the top 20 list of petrochemical companies producing virgin polymers bound for single-use plastic remains effectively unchanged.” Here, 24/7 Wall St. is listing the top 50 companies that produce the most plastic waste based on the Plastic Waste Makers Index 2023 report. Among the top 10 producers are three U.S. companies and two Chinese companies. Of the 139 MNT of single-use plastic waste generated in 2021, the top 10 companies generated about 31% and the 50 companies on the list generated 62%.

The 50 companies on the list are ranked on the plastic waste generated in 2021, measured in millions of tons. We added cradle-to-grave greenhouse gas emissions measured in million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. This measure considers impacts at each stage of a plastic product’s lifecycle, from the natural resources extracted to manufacturing and ultimately, disposal. The circularity score is the company’s improvement in its reuses of plastic resources.

Annual revenue figures came from a range of sources, including Yahoo! Finance and the company’s own sites. Revenue figures reported in foreign currency were converted to U.S. dollars using exchange rates as of Oct. 26, 2023.

 Courtesy: www.247wallst.com