Just 20 firms are behind more than half of the world's single-use plastic waste

According to a new report, 20 companies are behind more than half of the world's single-use plastic waste. – Photo: Mario De Moya F/Getty Images via AFP

Just 20 companies are behind more than half of the world's single-use plastic waste, according to a new report. And the top 100 companies in the ranking account for 90% of this waste.

Single-use plastic – which represents over a third of plastics produced each year – is a source of pollution for the environment, in particular the world's oceans, where five to 13 million metric tons of this waste ends up each year. In its latest report, titled "The Plastic Waste Makers Index*, the Minderoo Foundation has identified the companies that use fossil fuels to produce the five primary polymers that generate the vast majority of single-use plastic waste globally, as well as the companies making efforts to create a circular plastics economy.