Plastic waste leakage in Asia could rise 70% by 2050: OECD

Plastic waste leakage in Southeast Asia, plus China, Japan and South Korea, could rise by nearly 70% by 2050 without stronger policies, according to a new OECD report.

The Regional Plastics Outlook says plastics use in the region is on track to almost double compared with 2022 levels, driven by rising incomes and living standards. ASEAN member states are expected to see a near tripling.

Plastic waste is projected to more than double, while leakage into the environment could grow by 68%, mostly from ASEAN lower-middle-income countries and China. In 2022, 8.4 million tonnes of mismanaged plastic waste entered the environment.

The report calls the region a “hotspot for plastic pollution”, noting that regional plastic waste grew from 10 million tonnes in 1990 to 113 million tonnes in 2022. Informal and unsafe practices, including open burning and dumping, remain widespread in rural areas of ASEAN countries and China.

Annual leakage could reach 14.1 million tonnes by 2050, with 5.1 million tonnes entering rivers, coastal areas and oceans. Over half of the plastics used in the region have a lifespan of under five years, becoming waste quickly.

The OECD says ambitious actions such as bans on single-use plastics and taxes could cut plastic use by 28%, raise recycling rates to 54%, and reduce mismanaged waste by 97%.

Talks on a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution resumed in Geneva on Tuesday, after previous negotiations in South Korea collapsed last year amid disagreements over curbing production and improving waste management.

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