A boy collects plastic from a garbage-covered river in Manila, 2010.
In the modern world, plastic products are so common that hardly anyone keeps track of how much they use and discard.
But no matter how well a country manages its recycling, a significant amount of plastic ends up in the environment — especially in waterways. It's estimated that by 2050, the seas will contain more plastic than fish. The consequences of this could be harsher to humanity than climate change, as we detail in our in-depth report, "Climate change, meet your apocalyptic twin: oceans poisoned by plastic."
So, how much plastic do you throw away or recycle? Calculate your average with this tool, then compare your number with the rest of the world.
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