On average 1 kg of plastic equals 3 kg CO2-equivalents for production and incineration

• 44% of all plastic consumption is packaging, mostly related to food.
• Multiply your waste by an average of 2 for the avoidance of CO2 for production or 3 when including incineration. Currently most plastic waste is still being burned (or exported) as the recycling market is not yet regulated and financially sustainable.
• Examples: 5 plastic shopping bags (60-70 gram each) cause 1 kg CO2-eq.
• A thin foil weighs 5 gram, a small plastic food basket/package 10 g and a larger food basket with cap 15 g, a bottle 17 g, and a yoghurt package 30 g.
• Note: an empty drink pack weighs 60 g, but only the inside is plastic (with aluminium: Polyal), less than 6 g, a single use drink cup weighs 3 g.
• In the Western world we use 1500 plastic packages per year (4 per day per person, mostly related to food). Average per person: 24 kg packaging plastic waste = about 72 kg CO2-eq.

Above CO2 calculation figures are based upon the figures in the table below.