Five charts to start your day
Our global economy has a huge addiction to plastic
Over the past four decades of my life on this planet, I have witnessed a tremendous amount of change. Indeed, the way we live today is radically different from my childhood memories. Initially, recycling was an afterthought, something mentioned in school but not taken seriously. Everything was discarded in the trash or taken to the dump.
As a child, there were no limits on the number of plastic bags you could use at the supermarket. Moving to Switzerland was a culture shock for me; there, bags must be purchased, and the concept of a "bag for life" had been established for decades. The Swiss take great pride in recycling everything. It is a practice deeply embedded in their culture.
This brings me to the importance of the chart below, which illustrates our global plastic problem. Our addictions extend far beyond just oil; we're also heavily reliant on plastic.
The reality is stark: half of all plastic ever produced was manufactured in the last 20 years, with 55% discarded and 10% incinerated. Our recycling efforts, especially for plastic, have been insufficient.
The challenge lies not only in recognising the importance of recycling plastic but also in lacking the technology and infrastructure to do it properly. The focus has often been on the "why" of recycling rather than the "how," particularly how it can be done in an economically sustainable manner. Without cost-effective recycling, more plastic is doomed to incineration, exacerbating our environmental problems.
Source: informationisbeautiful
Coming up:
Nvidia’s share of the data centre industry has grown rapidly
Bill Ackman’s portfolio
Investors plough record amounts into US farmland
Europe’s car makers are falling short on electric vehicle production
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