The three feature length documentaries from our WHY PLASTIC?-series are now freely available to a global audience via our YouTube-channel.

The 2020-campaign was a deep dive into the plastic problems that our world faces. An attempt to bust the myths about plastic production, recycling and health impact. Now, five years later we ask: Has the plastic problem been solved?

What’s the status on plastic production?

In our film Coca-Cola’s Plastic Problems, we examined the strategies and rhetoric of one of the biggest plastic producers in the world; Coca-Cola. In 2020 the food and drink industry produced 470 billion plastic bottles every year, today the number is at least 100 billion larger. Plastic production has set a new record every year since 2020, reaching 413.8 million metric tons in  2023, and it shows up everywhere. Like on the small British island Guernsey, located in the English channel, where marine biologists have found more types of plastic bottles on the beach than there are fish species in the channel.

Only half a decade ago, recycled plastic was much cheaper than virgin plastic. However, since the supply of fresh plastic has exceeded demand, the price of virgin plastic has decreased recently. Converting a used plastic bottle into material that can then be recycled to make a new bottle creates extra expenses such as sorting, cleaning and processing, all of which can be circumvented by production of virgin plastic.

‍What’s the status on plastic recycling?

Plastic recycling is difficult and not cost-effective for businesses, but there are still billions to be made from plastic waste. Our investigative documentary The Recycling Myth goes undercover and shows the reality behind the recycling industry, tracking the black-market brokers who hunt for countries to dump and burn our “recycled” plastic. We found that waste smuggling is now as lucrative a business as human trafficking. The documentary highlights how some of the world’s biggest consumer-goods brands have spun the recycling fairytale as a way to allow them to continue polluting without consequence. As we all pick up the bill for a world drowning in plastic, the film asks: Who is getting rich?

Most plastic is simply not recyclable. When plastic is discarded, its most likely fate is a landfill, incineration or simply being dumped into the environment, and the general consensus is that only 9% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled.

Plastic producers have been lying about recycling for years without much consequence, but now consumers are pushing back. Numerous plastic production companies have been sued in recent years, including ExxonMobil that is being sued by the state of California, accused of using slick marketing and misleading public statements for half a century to claim that all plastic was recyclable.

‍What’s the status on researching plastics impact on health?

Plastics are not just invading our environment and our oceans. We the Guinea Pigs shows the scientific community’s beginning realization of the impact plastic has on human health. In 2020 scientists were still trying to prove to what extent microplastics could enter the different organs in our bodies and cause negative health effects.

Research has now revealed a lot more about what plastic does to our bodies. A 2023 UN Environment Programme report, pointed out more than 3200 harmful chemicals that gain access to our bodies through microplastics. The tiny microplastics that make their way from plastic products into our bodies and accumulate at much higher concentrations in the human brain than in other organs. Microplastics are everywhere, and have been found in the air, fresh produce and even human breast milk, raising concerns about long-term health effects.

Despite growing global concern, efforts to establish a legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution remain stalled. At the 2024 UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting in Busan, South Korea, countries failed to reach a consensus. While over 100 nations called for limits on plastic production, oil-producing states resisted, agreeing only to address plastic waste. Talks have now been postponed to a later date, further delaying critical action.

As plastic production grows year by year, it will be harder to ignore the problems plastic creates. The Why Plastic? online launch aims to restart the conversation and raise awareness globally. Watch the films and help us share the truth behind plastic pollution. If you are interested in hosting a screening of our films, please don’t hesitate to contact us.