Plasten kom for fullt på 50-tallet. I dag er det globale plastforbruket mer enn 50 ganger høyere per person. Og utviklingen ser bare ut til å fortsette.
Norge har fulgt samme mønster, og hvert år bruker og forbruker vi store mengder plast.
Beregning basert på befolkningstall fra Gapminder og plastproduksjon fra OurWorldInData.
Key Figures on Plastics in Norway
Plastic in General
- We use around 900,000 tonnes of plastic every year.
- We dispose of 540,000 tonnes of plastic every year.
- Most of the plastic is used for packaging, followed by tires, textiles, and construction.
- It is estimated that a total of 4.9 million tonnes of plastic is accumulated in Norwegian society through permanent installations in sectors such as construction, fisheries and aquaculture, electrical and electronic equipment, and vehicles.
- Only 62% of household plastic waste is suitable for recycling*.
- The Norwegian plastic industry uses only 9% recycled plastic in their products.
- Textiles made of plastic account for around 9% of annual Norwegian plastic waste, almost 10 kg per person per year—ranking third after packaging and tires.
- The most plastic is used for packaging, which constitutes 40% of all plastic waste in Norway.
- Only 24% of plastic waste is recycled. The remainder mostly goes to incineration. Smaller amounts end up in landfills or are lost to the environment (littering).
- Of the plastic waste that is sorted for recycling, 80% is exported.
Sources:
"The Material Flow of Plastic in Norway - What Do We Know?"
*"The Path to Circular Plastics - A Norwegian Circular Plastic Economy with Low Emissions"
Did you know that a fishing net typically weighs between 15-20 kg?
Marine Litter in Norway
Marine litter is waste that pollutes beaches, the sea, and is found in and along waterways and lakes.
- Among marine litter identified through beach cleanup actions, items from fishing and aquaculture are at the top when measured by weight.
- Measured by the number of items, small EPS (styrofoam) pieces are at the top, followed by plastic film and other unidentified plastic.
- Half of the waste is less than five years old.
- It is only possible to identify the origin of about 10% of the marine plastic waste. Of the plastic waste we can identify, 77% comes from Norway.
Source: "Deep Dive into the Plastic Sea"
Key Figures on Plastics Globally
- Today, we use 460 million tons of plastic globally each year, of which only 29 million tons are recycled.
- A full 10% of all oil produced annually is used to produce plastic (virgin plastic is primarily made from fossil raw materials such as oil and gas).
- Around 14% of the world's plastic production goes to textile manufacturing.
- Globally, 380 million tons of plastic waste is generated each year, of which 18% is recycled, 26% is incinerated, and the rest is disposed of in landfills or open dumps.
- Globally, between 19 and 23 million tons of plastic end up in oceans and lakes annually.
- Without intervention, it is estimated that emissions into oceans and lakes will increase to 90 million tons by 2030.
Sources: Geyer (2020), Borrelle et al. (2020), IEA (2020) and Global Plastics Outlook (OECD iLibrary)
Hva kan vi gjøre for å stoppe utviklingen?
Ved hjelp av det internasjonalt anerkjente analysebyrået SYSTEMIQ har vi laget et verktøy for å beregne effekten av ulike tiltak på Norges plastforbruk. Ved å justere på ulike variabler kan du se hvordan ulike tiltak påvirker et fremtidig scenario og se det opp mot et scenario der vi følger business as usual.
Vi må gjenvinne mer plast. Slik skal vi få det til.
Vi i Handelens Miljøfond har satt et ambisiøst mål for Norges plasthåndtering. Innen 2025 skal vi bidra til at 50 % av all plast materialgjenvinnes. Rapporten “Materialgjenvinning av norsk plastavfall – 50 % innen 2025” tydeliggjør hvor langt vi er fra målet, hva som må gjøres og problemer vi må løse for å komme i mål.