Social Cost of Plastic: 2019's More Than GDP of India, Report Says

MARSEILLE, FRANCE - The pollution, emissions and cleanup costs of plastic produced in 2019 alone could be $3.7 trillion, according to a report released Monday by wildlife charity WWF, warning of the environmental and economic burden of this "seemingly cheap" material.  

There is increasing international alarm over the sheer volumes of fossil-fuel based plastics entering the environment, as microplastics have infiltrated even the most remote and otherwise pristine regions of the planet.    In its report, WWF said societies were "unknowingly subsiding" plastic. The report estimates the lifetime costs of the 2019 production is equal to more than the gross domestic product of India.   "Plastic appears to be a relatively cheap material when looking at the market price primary plastic producers pay for virgin plastic. However, this price fails to account for the full cost imposed across the plastic life cycle," said the report, “Plastics: The Cost to Society, Environment and the Economy,” produced for WWF by the consultancy Dalberg.