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Data

Mean product lifetime of plastic uses

About this data

Source
Geyer et al. (2017) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
January 1, 2018
Date range
2015–2015
Unit
years

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

Geyer et al. – Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made

Data is given as mean product lifetimes of plastic products (measured in years), plastic production, and plastic waste by industrial sector/use (measured in tonnes per year).

Data is also given for primary production and plastic waste by polymer type. Polymer types are as follows:

  • LDPE: Low-density polyethylene
  • HDPE: High-density polyethylene
  • PP: Polypropylene
  • PS: Polystyrene
  • PVC: Polyvinyl chloride
  • PET: Polyethylene terephthalate
  • PUT: Polyurethanes
  • PP&A fibres: polyester, polyamide, and acrylic fibres
  • Other polymers
  • Additives
Retrieved on
January 1, 2018
Retrieved from
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Geyer, R., Jambeck, J. R., & Law, K. L. (2017). Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Science Advances, 3(7), e1700782.

Data is given as mean product lifetimes of plastic products (measured in years), plastic production, and plastic waste by industrial sector/use (measured in tonnes per year).

Data is also given for primary production and plastic waste by polymer type. Polymer types are as follows:

  • LDPE: Low-density polyethylene
  • HDPE: High-density polyethylene
  • PP: Polypropylene
  • PS: Polystyrene
  • PVC: Polyvinyl chloride
  • PET: Polyethylene terephthalate
  • PUT: Polyurethanes
  • PP&A fibres: polyester, polyamide, and acrylic fibres
  • Other polymers
  • Additives
Retrieved on
January 1, 2018
Retrieved from
http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/3/7/e1700782
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Geyer, R., Jambeck, J. R., & Law, K. L. (2017). Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made. Science Advances, 3(7), e1700782.

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  • All data produced by third-party providers and made available by Our World in Data are subject to the license terms from the original providers. Our work would not be possible without the data providers we rely on, so we ask you to always cite them appropriately (see below). This is crucial to allow data providers to continue doing their work, enhancing, maintaining and updating valuable data.
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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Mean product lifetime of plastic uses”. Our World in Data (2026). Data adapted from Geyer et al.. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260518-090244/grapher/mean-product-lifetime-plastic.html [online resource] (archived on May 18, 2026).

How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

Geyer et al. (2017) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

Geyer et al. (2017) – processed by Our World in Data. “Mean product lifetime of plastic uses” [dataset]. Geyer et al., “Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made” [original data]. Retrieved May 18, 2026 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260518-090244/grapher/mean-product-lifetime-plastic.html (archived on May 18, 2026).

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