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Data

Share of plastic waste that is mismanaged

See all data and research on:
Plastic Pollution

About this data

Source
OECD (2023) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
September 21, 2023
Date range
2000–2019
Unit
%

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

This dataset provides estimates of plastics waste for the 15 global regions of the OECD ENV-Linkages model, detailed in the Annex of the OECD Global Plastics Outlook.

This dataset provides estimates of plastics waste per end-of-life fate after accounting for recycling losses and collected littering.

Plastic waste is calculated as a function of plastics use (in volumes), following Geyer, Jambeck and Law (2017), using a methodology based on lifespan distributions. Plastic waste is divided into different waste management streams (end-of-life fates) by applying end-of-life shares that vary across countries and that account for account for recycling losses and collected litter. The methodology to derive the end-of-life shares is explained in the Annex to the OECD Global Plastics Outlook.

Retrieved on
September 21, 2023
Retrieved from
https://stats.oecd.org/viewhtml.aspx?datasetcode=PLASTIC_WASTE_5&lang=en
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2022), Global Plastics Outlook, https://stats.oecd.org/viewhtml.aspx?datasetcode=PLASTIC_WASTE_5&lang=en, accessed on 21 September 2023

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All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.

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  • All data produced by third-party providers and made available by Our World in Data are subject to the license terms from the original providers. Our work would not be possible without the data providers we rely on, so we ask you to always cite them appropriately (see below). This is crucial to allow data providers to continue doing their work, enhancing, maintaining and updating valuable data.
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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Share of plastic waste that is mismanaged”, part of the following publication: Hannah Ritchie, Veronika Samborska, and Max Roser (2023) - “Plastic Pollution”. Data adapted from OECD. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20250624-125417/grapher/share-of-plastic-waste-that-is-mismanaged.html [online resource] (archived on June 24, 2025).
How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

OECD (2023) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

OECD (2023) – processed by Our World in Data. “Share of plastic waste that is mismanaged” [dataset]. OECD, “Global Plastics Outlook - Plastics waste by region and end-of-life fate” [original data]. Retrieved July 2, 2025 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20250624-125417/grapher/share-of-plastic-waste-that-is-mismanaged.html (archived on June 24, 2025).
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