20 companies produce 55% of global plastic waste, research reveals

Twenty companies are responsible for the production of over half of the world's single-use plastic waste, contributing to the climate crisis and creating environmental carnage in ocean ecosystems, new research has shown.

Both state-owned and private businesses make it onto the list which is made up of oil and gas giants and chemical companies, according to a detailed new analysis.

The Plastic Waste Makers index is a project from the Australian non-profit organisation The Minderoo Foundation which looks to identify the source of global single-use plastic waste. According to its website, the index "reveals, for the first time, the 20 petrochemical companies who generate more than half the world’s single-use plastic waste, and the global financial institutions backing them."

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Single-use plastics are used for a wide range of throwaway items, from carrier bags and bottles to face masks. When their short lives come to an end, these items are either incinerated, thrown into landfill or end up polluting the oceans.

The index also reveals the list of countries that generated the most single-use plastic waste per capita in 2019. The list is topped by Australia at 59kg per person, followed by the US at 53kg, and South Korea and the UK in joint third place at 44kg.

The biggest producer of single-use plastics in the world, according to the research, is ExxonMobil, adding 5.9 million tonnes to the mountain of global waste. The world's largest chemicals company, Dow, comes in second with 5.6 million tonnes, with China's state-owned oil and gas business Sinopec in third place, creating 5.3 million tonnes.

In terms of geographical distribution, of the top 20 companies, 11 are based in Asia, four in Europe, three in North America and one in both South America and the Middle East.

The companies polymer production is funded by a number of major banks including Barclays, Bank of America, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup.

Read more: Plastics industry financiers under scrutiny as pollution concerns rise

The top 20 companies combined plastic waste footprint amounts to 59.3 million tonnes - more than half of the single-use plastic that was discarded in 2019, the index shows.

Single-use plastics are manufactured almost exclusively from fossil fuels, driving the climate crisis from extraction to landfill. Some of the most difficult items to recycle, single-use plastics largely wind up creating waste mountains, or in ocean "garbage patches" such as the one in the Pacific, which is now slightly larger than Mongolia. Only around 10-15% of these plastics are recycled globally each year.

The Plastic Waste Makers index offers an unprecedented view of the handful of companies and their financial backers, which create nearly all the single-use plastic waste worldwide.

Commenting on the analysis, former US vice-president turned environmental campaigner Al Gore said it had laid bare the way in which fossil fuel companies were rapidly pivoting to plastic production against a backdrop of decarbonisation in two of their traditional main markets - energy generation and transport.

Read more: Coca-Cola named world's worst plastic polluter for third year running

Writing in a foreword, Gore said: “Since most plastic is made from oil and gas – especially fracked gas – the production and consumption of plastic are becoming a significant driver of the climate crisis.

"Moreover, the plastic waste that results – particularly from single-use plastics – is piling up in landfills, along roadsides, and in rivers that carry vast amounts into the ocean."

The crisis of plastic waste is growing year by year. By some estimates, global virgin polymer production for single-use plastics could increase by over 30%.

Plastic production is expected to account for between 5-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

"An environmental catastrophe beckons: much of the resulting single-use plastic waste will end up as pollution in developing countries with poor waste management systems," the report's authors wrote. "The projected rate of growth in the supply of these virgin polymers is in line with the historical rate of growth in demand for single-use plastics – which will likely keep new, circular models of production and re-use “out of the money” without regulatory stimulus."

The report said the global plastics industry has for decades been able to operate with limited transparency and minimal regulation.

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"These companies are the source of the single-use plastic crisis: their production of new “virgin” polymers from oil, gas and coal feedstocks perpetuates the take-make-waste dynamic of the plastics economy. The economies of scale for fossil-fuel-based production are undermining the transition to a “circular” plastic economy, with negative impacts on waste collection rates, on end-of-life management and on rates of plastic pollution."

The report said there must be a focus on producing recycled polymers from existing plastic waste, on models for reuse and on alternative and substitute materials.

Only 2% of single-use plastics produced in 2019 came from recycled polymers.

"Plastic pollution is one of the greatest and most critical threats facing our planet," said Dr Andrew Forrest AO, chairman of the Minderoo Foundation. "The current outlook is set to get worse and we simply cannot allow these producers of fossil fuel-derived plastics to continue as they have done without check. With our oceans choking and plastic impacting our health, we need to see firm intervention from producers, governments and the world of finance to break the cycle of inaction."

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