00:00As countries negotiate a global treaty to cut down plastic pollution,
00:03what is the main use for plastic in Europe?
00:10In Europe, about three-quarters of plastic is used mainly for non-packaging purposes,
00:16including in construction, furniture, textiles and consumer electronics.
00:20In Western Europe, the average annual plastic consumption is around 150 kilograms per person,
00:26more than twice the global average of 60 kilograms.
00:30The use of plastic in Europe is set to reach 101.2 million tons by 2014.
00:36Globally, 460 million tons of plastic are produced every year
00:40and 81% of plastic products end up as a waste in less than a year.
00:45Only 9% of this waste is recycled, more than one-fifth is dumped in nature
00:50and almost half ends up in landfill sites.
00:53As plastic volumes skyrocket, mismanaged waste will increase by 47%
00:58and plastic leakage to the environment by 50% by 2040.
01:02In the EU, there has already been an increase of up to 9%
01:06in the unintentional release of microplastics into the environment.
01:10The majority of marine litter from land-based sources is plastic,
01:14which impacts marine life and human health via the food chain.
01:18Besides polluting the environment, plastic production contributes to climate change.
01:22Annual emissions related to plastic production in the EU amount to around 13.4 million tons of CO2.
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