A bar chart showing the amount produced and the amount of waste generated for 8 of the most common commodity polymers, with PP&A Fibers, PP and LDPE and LLDPE both producing the most and generating the most waste.

Global production and waste generation of the most common polymers in 2015

Waste generation represents plastic polymers in landfills, while production represents plastic polymers produced.

HDPE: high-density polyethylene; LDPE: low-density polyethylene; LLDPE: linear low-density polyethylene; PET: polyethylene terephthalate; PP: polypropylene; PP&A: polyester, polyamide, and acrylic; PS: polystyrene; PUR: polyurethane; PVC: polyvinylchloride.
Chart: The Conversation, CC-BY-NDSource: US Department of EnergyGet the dataEmbedDownload imageCreated with Datawrapper