The lifetime cost to society, the environment and the economy of plastic produced in 2019 alone has been determined at $3.7-trillion, more than the gross domestic product (GDP) of India, a new report by global consulting firm Dalberg, commissioned by non-governmental organisation the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), finds. Unless action is taken, these costs are set to double for the plastics produced in 2040 at $7.1-trillion, equivalent to 85% of global spending on health in 2018 and greater than the GDP of Germany, Canada and Australia in 2019 combined.
