1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Israel and the crisis in the Middle EastGerman coalition collapseUS election
Nature and EnvironmentGlobal issues

8.3 billion tons of plastic on earth

Harald Franzen
July 20, 2017

A study published in this week's issue of Science Advances estimates the total amount of plastic ever produced throughout the world to be 8,300 million metric tons.

https://p.dw.com/p/2gqrm
A man sorts bottles at a plastic junkyard
Image: Reuters/A. Verma

Industrial-scale production began in the 1950s and has been gathering pace ever since. Two years ago, the total amount of plastic produced was 8.3 billion tons. Of that, 6.3 billion had turned into plastic waste. Only 9 percent of that waste was recycled and 12 percent was incinerated. A whopping 79 percent ended up in landfills or the environment.

But how much is 8.3 billion metric tons? Imagine an impossibly large heap weighing 18,400 times as much as Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Or to put it in a German perspective, think in terms of 320,000 times the weight of Berlin's iconic TV tower.

Getting the picture? It is also the equivalent weight of 56,000 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers or about 55 million (yes, million) jumbo jets.

Skip next section Explore more

Explore more

Plastic bottle castle. Photo credit: Oliver Ristau.

Castle of plastic bottles shows the way to reducing waste

Castle of plastic bottles shows the way to reducing waste

Plastic waste is a growing problem worldwide - especially for the planet's oceans. The dilemma has inspired a Canadian entrepreneur to start using old plastic bottles to build homes on an island off Panama. (26.06.2017)
Nature and EnvironmentJune 26, 2017
Plastik Müll Meer

Six data visualizations that explain the plastic problem

Six data visualizations that explain the plastic problem

Tiny particles, bags, bottles: When plastic lands in the ocean, it harms wildlife and the environment. But how much plastic does end up there, and where does it come from? An overview of problems and solutions. (30.12.2016)
Nature and EnvironmentDecember 30, 2016
A Washed Ashore penguin

Trash turned into stunning art

Trash turned into stunning art

Using plastic debris found on the coast of Oregon, Washed Ashore is creating stunning scuptures of marine animals, raising awareness and cleaning up the beaches at the same time. (05.01.2016)
January 5, 2016
Show more stories