China churns out more plastic than next six producers combined, UN talks hear
Seven countries, led by China, produced two-thirds of the four most common plastic types in 2024. China alone accounted for 34% of global production, exceeding the combined output of the next six largest producers (US, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, India, Japan, and Germany). This data emerged during UN treaty negotiations in Geneva aimed at tackling plastic pollution. The study by Eunomia and Zero Carbon Analytics focused on polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS). A previous study indicated that just 18 companies, including state-owned Sinopec and giants like ExxonMobil, produced over half of the world's plastic polymers in 2021.
