Just 20 companies are responsible for half of the global single-use plastic waste – report says

Just 20 companies are responsible for more than half of single-use plastic products discarded worldwide, according to a report by Australia's Minderoo Foundation that illustrates the destructive effect on the environment

According to the first "Plastic Waste Makers Index," released by the Australia-based philanthropic, businesses — mostly oil and chemical behemoths — are produces for half of the world's single-use plastic waste.

Single-use plastics, such as facial masks, surgical devices, shopping bags, coffee cups, and cling tape, are manufactured from polymers, which are derived from fossil fuels.

According to the report, 20 businesses account for 55% of the world's single-use plastic waste, while the top 100 companies account for more than 90%.

In 2019, 130 million metric tonnes of single-use plastics were discarded globally, with 35% burning, 31% deposited in controlled landfills, and 19% poured either on land or into the ocean, the report stated.

ExxonMobil of the United States heads the list, adding 5.9 million metric tonnes to global plastic waste, closely followed by Dow Chemical of the United States and Sinopec of China which contributed 5.6 million metric tonnes and 5.3 million metric tonnes, respectively.

ExxonMobil said in a statement " It shares society's concern about plastic waste." The company said it is "taking action to address plastic waste" but said the problem requires collective action from " businesses, governmental, environmental organizations, NGOs, and customers.

Twenty of the world’s major banks account for almost 60% of commercial financing support to polymer producers. Since 2011, these banks, including Barclays, HSBC, and Bank of America, have lent a total of $30 billion to the industry.

"The trajectories of the climate crisis and the plastic waste crisis are strikingly similar — and increasingly intertwined," former Vice President Al Gore said in a statement that accompanied the report.

The following companies are the largest producers of single-use plastic after Exxon Mobil, Dow, and Sinopec: Indorama Ventures, Saudi Aramco, PetroChina, LyondellBasell, Reliance Industries, Braskem, Alpek SA de CV, Borealis, Lotte Chemical, INEOS, Whole, Jiangsu Hailun Petrochemical, Far Eastern New Century, Formosa Plastics Corporation, China Energy Investment Group, PTT, and China resources, the report stated.

Single-use plastic production is expected to increase by 30% in the next five years, contributing to global warming and ocean pollution, according to researchers who released a list of companies that make and finance throwaway plastic on Tuesday.

According to the report, polymer manufacturers — the building blocks of plastics — should begin reporting their single-use plastic waste "footprint," and banks and shareholders should "phase out completely" any funding for the manufacturing of single-use plastics.

With inputs from NPR