Food Manufacturing writing about a recent report on plastic production and use:

Packaging is an especially big piece of that pie as consumers continue to replace glass and metal with plastic. The study shows that the average person living in Western Europe or North America consumes 100 kilograms (220.5 pounds) of plastic every year, mostly from packaging.

– Food Manufacturing

This is a staggering amount of plastic per person per annum. What is often also neglected is the extent to which consumers (and the municipalities that manage these wastes) are rather beholden to the whim of manufacturers and the market for recyclables in their region. Thus while I laud efforts to expand a lagging recycling infrastructure worldwide, the reality is that the most effective response is simply to produce and consume less plastic, recycled or otherwise.