The OECD modeled 353 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2019 and 33 million tonnes recycled. The directly comparable remainder is therefore about 320 million tonnes not recycled. Separately, 460 million tonnes of plastics were used that year; that flow is not used as the denominator here because long-lived products mean production and same-year waste are not identical populations.
Data as of: OECD model year: 2019 · report published 2022
Sources: OECD: Global Plastics Outlook (2022)
Millions, billions, trillions – they all sound the same. Here you see them side by side, to scale and with sources.
Plastic recycled per year vs. Plastic waste not recycled · 1 : 9.7
Mass of Earth vs. Mass of the Sun · 1 : 333,000
Median U.S. family wealth vs. Elon Musk's wealth · 1 : 5.08 million
Damage from welfare fraud vs. Damage from tax evasion · 1 : 380
Earth's diameter vs. Diameter of the observable universe · 1 : 69 quintillion
A long human life vs. Age of the universe · 1 : 170 million
Wealth of the other 99 % vs. Wealth of the richest 1 %
Calculated remaining area vs. Land for animal feed
Annual per-person CO₂ in Niger vs. CO₂ of an illustrative 7.5-hour private-jet flight · 1 : 125
Birds killed by wind turbines vs. Birds killed by cats
Wild birds and mammals together vs. All ants · 1 : 1.3
Wild mammals vs. Livestock
Grains of sand on Earth vs. Stars in the universe · 1 : 10,000
Modeled investment against hunger vs. U.S. pet spending · 1 : 4.79
Annualized garment minimum wage vs. Ortega's dividends per year · 1 : 2.63 million
Wealth of the poorest 50 % vs. Wealth of the richest 1 %
CO₂ of the poorest 50 % vs. CO₂ of the richest 1 %
CO₂ per person in India vs. CO₂ per person in the USA · 1 : 6.5
Millions, billions, trillions: beyond a certain size, all numbers sound the same. SeeTheScale turns them into comparisons you can picture – such as the wealth of the richest against an average household, CO₂ per person in the biggest emitting countries or the age of the universe against a human life.
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