Using industry research, the report highlights the emissions released through plastic production, distribution, and disposal as well as the toxic impact it’s having on wildlife and the environment. With news of microplastics being found in almost everything from food to Antarctic sea ice, the need to understand plastic’s overall contribution to climate and ecosystem change has never been more urgent.

A key finding is that plastics contribute 1.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases according to the OECD — 3.4% of overall emissions. This is much more than industries that are notorious for their emissions such as Aviation (1.9%) and Shipping (1.7%), highlighting that more must be done to lower plastic emissions at each stage of its production, use, and recycling.

From its start, plastic uses huge amounts of fossil fuels, with one in seven barrels of all oil (14%) going towards its manufacturing. Oil production has increased by an estimated 40% since 1990, leading to a huge 629 million tonnes of oil used annually to produce plastic — a number that increases every year. As it currently stands, 93% of plastics are made with fossil fuels, and only 6% from recycled plastics. The remaining 1% are bio-based.