Plastic bags are frequently needed to carry shopping items. With so many people shopping around the world and the need for plastic bags, you must be wondering, how many plastic bags are used globally?
Plastic bags are widely used, especially in Asia Pacific, which is the main market for plastic bags. The high consumption of plastic bags is significant given that more than half of all plastic bag production takes place in the region.
The Plastics Europe report titled “Plastics – the Facts 2022”, for example, mentioned that China is the largest producer of plastic bags or 32 percent of the total plastic bag production worldwide, Japan (4%) and the remaining Asian countries (17%).
Given the complexity of the plastic bags issues, it is important to recognize how many plastic bags are used and how they are disposed of.
How Many Plastic Bags Are Used Worldwide?
As quoted from the official website of the United Nations General Assembly, Monday (11/09/2023), there are 500 billion plastic bags used every year around the world of which 50 percent are single-use. Worse, the UN report data states that more than 12 million plastic waste is dumped into the sea.
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The large production and consumption of plastic bags is in fact not followed by adequate management. Recent data shows that recycling of plastic waste is still very low. The majority of countries in the world prefer to dispose of them in landfills and even incinerate them.
The 2019 OECD report shows that only 9 percent of plastic bags are recycled worldwide, 19 percent are incinerated, and nearly 50 percent are disposed of in landfills. The remaining 22 percent is mismanaged, where the plastic waste is either incinerated in open pits, disposed of in poorly managed landfills, or leaked into the environment.
While many countries have now banned the use of plastic bags, there are still many countries that are reluctant to impose restrictions.
According to the World Research Institute, as reported from its official website, out of 127 countries that regulate plastic bags, only 55 countries comprehensively restrict the retail distribution of plastic bags, as well as impose restrictions on manufacturing, production and imports. Meanwhile, 89 countries out of 192 countries studied by the institute, which chose a partial ban or restriction on the use of plastic rather than a full ban.
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