of countries do not report on any plastic data
of countries report data on plastic waste
26% of countries regularly report data on plastic waste generated
of countries report on a type of plastic waste treatment
Key Takeaways
Whilst the Plastics Data Tracker evidences that significant progress is required to fill data gaps, the tracker also shows that governments with varied infrastructure and resources do actively report plastics data - for example, Vietnam, Samoa and Mauritius report against 60% of the data categories. This indicates that through using data collection strategies, methodologies (proxies and samples) and digital systems, it is possible for countries to report data, providing they receive the appropriate support to do so (e.g., capacity building and knowledge sharing).
OECD countries (of which there are 38 members) at a minimum annually report the amount of plastics that they produce and the amount that is incinerated, landfilled or sent for recycling. Out of the OECD countries, 22 are EU member states and therefore must also report comprehensive data including packaging waste, single-use plastics, recycling rates, and waste treatment methods through standardised EU frameworks. The other 16 OECD countries have no uniform requirements but typically track basic metrics like waste generation and recycling rates through national systems.
Most non-OECD countries do not seem to have structured plastics data that is routinely reported. The exception is those who are EU member states who are required to report plastics data for: packaging waste, single-use plastics, recycling rates, and waste treatment methods. Analysis of all other non-OECD countries (non-EU member states) shows that many countries have no plastics-related data published on their websites at all, and other countries have irregular data published, or have aggregated data at a material-level e.g., "total waste", as opposed to "total plastics waste". This is likely to be because other countries are not bound by commitments or legislation to report on data relevant to the plastics life cycle - and countries are unlikely to do this voluntarily given the infrastructure and human resource required.
No country currently annually publishes plastics data across all metrics in the supply chain, and many do not report against any of the metrics.
Many countries are in the process of developing their plastics data. These efforts are often driven by the need to better understand plastic flows, comply with international standards, and meet environmental goals. For example, Indonesia is developing a National Plastic Action Partnership and is exploring the development of a digital tracking system for waste data. In Ghana, the Government have also acknowledged the need for more/improved data in their National Solid Waste Management Strategy, which includes plans for baseline data collection, waste characterization studies in major cities, and implementing waste tracking software in municipalities.