Social cost of plastic produced in 2019 more than India’s GDP
Live MintThe pollution, emissions and clean-up costs of plastic produced in 2019 alone could be $3.7 trillion, according to a report released on Monday by wildlife charity WWF, warning of the environmental and economic burden of this “seemingly cheap” material. In its report, WWF said societies were "unknowingly subsiding" plastic, with their estimates for the lifetime costs of 2019 production equivalent to more than the gross domestic product of India. "Plastic appears to be a relatively cheap material when looking at the market price primary plastic producers pay for virgin plastic," said the report Plastics: The cost to society, environment and the economy, produced for WWF by the consultancy Dalberg. The UN Environment Programme has said the planet is "drowning in plastic pollution", with about 300 million tonnes of plastic waste produced every year. More than 1.5 billion masks made their way into the world's oceans last year, accounting for around 6,200 extra tonnes of marine plastic pollution, according to environmental group OceansAsia.