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Environment

Chart: Mismanaged plastic waste

Published on October 31, 2022

Feature card of the chart, Mismanaged plastic waste : Xuanming Liang & James Goldie, 360info CC BY 4.0 Feature card of the chart, Mismanaged plastic waste : Xuanming Liang & James Goldie, 360info CC BY 4.0

Hospitals, masks and test kits all produce plastic waste. Only a small part of it is recycled.

Plastic has saved lives in the pandemic — but it’s piling up, choking our rivers and oceans.

With the widespread introduction of disposable masks and test kits, the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that healthcare uses plastic too. But most of it is used away from the eyes of the public, in hospitals.

As this chart shows, researchers are racing to estimate just how much of the pandemic’s plastic waste is being recycled.

Hospitals are a major source of plastic waste in the pandemic, and there are still major challenges in recycling some of the types of plastic used.

Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info™.

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James Goldie
James Goldie, Data and Digital Storytelling Lead, 360info

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