The plastic industry produces planet-warming emissions at every step of the life cycle of its main product and at volumes that could become bigger than those produced by coal-fired power plants by the end of the current decade.

Data from the report, “The New Coal: Plastics & Climate Change,” from the environmental advocacy group Beyond Plastics, revealed plastic brings about greenhouse emissions that threaten climate goals and hurt socio-economically disadvantaged communities.

The report also reveals that plastic manufacturing produces gas emissions of at least 114 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent in the US, equal to those produced by 57 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants.

Also, the petrochemical industry’s plastics manufacturing infrastructure is expected to continue expanding.

Read the report here

[Image Credit: © Beyond Plastics]