Plastic Overshoot Day, which marks the moment when the amount of plastic produced exceeds the existing capability of waste management systems, arrives today (5 September).
The Plastic Overshoot Day report from Earth Action found that 220 million tonnes of plastic waste is set to be generated in 2024.
On average, 28kg of plastic waste per person will be generated globally, with a steady rise in total plastic waste of 7.11% since 2021.
One third will be mismanaged at the end of its life amounting to 69.5 million tonnes of plastic in nature, according to the report.
The Earth Action report also highlights that 66% of the global population now lives in areas where plastic waste already exceeded their waste management capacity.
According to the report, just 12 countries are responsible for 60% of the world’s mismanaged plastic waste, the top five being China, Russian Federation, India, Brazil, and Mexico.
Last year’s inaugural Plastic Overshoot Day report analysed plastic packaging waste alone. This year Earth Action included plastic waste from the textile industry and household waste into its analysis.
Using the revised scope, Plastic Overshoot Day 2023 would have landed on the 4 September.
Plastic Overshoot Day should serve both as a testament to our current trajectory and as a blueprint for necessary action.
Sarah Perreard, Co-CEO at Earth Action & Plastic Footprint Network, said: “Plastic Overshoot Day should serve both as a testament to our current trajectory and as a blueprint for necessary action.
“The decisions made today will echo through ecosystems and economies for generations. A business-as-usual approach to solving the plastic crisis will only worsen its effects.
“The necessity for change is founded in the need to protect the environment and our health, but the risk of inaction to business is often overlooked – profit, as well as the planet, will be victims of this crisis.
“Many corporations and SMEs are taking steps to account for their plastic footprint and instil circularity through supply chains. It is this corporate action, collaboration and regulation through an effective UN Treaty that will deliver change. I hope 2024 is the year we see ambition turned to action.”
This year’s Plastic Overshoot Day lands ahead of the final round of negotiations in November to develop an international legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, in Busan, Republic of Korea.
The UN Global Plastics Treaty will represent the world’s first comprehensive effort to regulate plastic, with objectives ranging from curtailing production, to banning specific chemicals and establishing ambitious recycling targets.
However, Earth Action said that any improvements in waste management capacity are outpaced by rising plastic production and the idea that recycling will “solve the plastics crisis” is flawed.
