European countries recycle less than a third of plastic waste - research firm

FILE PHOTO: A plastic bottle lies on the sand at Maccarese beach in Rome, Italy, November 21, 2018. REUTERS/Max Rossi/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - The world faces a severe plastic waste crisis as even the advanced countries of Europe together recycle less than a third of the plastic they throw away, Hamburg-based research firm Statista said in a report on Wednesday.

Of the world's total 348 million tons of annual plastic production, Europe accounts for 60 million tons, about half of which gets thrown away and only about 30% of that waste is recycled.