Australia’s annual plastic consumption produces emissions equivalent to 5.7m cars, analysis shows

Australia generated more single-use plastic waste per capita than any country except Singapore, researchers say. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/AAP

The plastics consumed yearly by Australians have a greenhouse emissions impact equivalent to 5.7m cars – more than a third of the cars on Australia’s roads, new analysis suggests.

A report commissioned by the Australian Marine Conservation Society and WWF Australia has found that the plastics consumed nationally in the 2019-20 financial year created 16m tonnes of greenhouse gases.