Plastic pollution risks 'near permanent contamination of natural environment'

First global analysis of all mass-produced plastics has found humans have produced 8.3bn tonnes since the 1950s with the majority ending up in landfill or oceans

Humans have produced 8.3bn tonnes of plastic since the 1950s with the majority ending up in landfill or polluting the world's continents and oceans, according to a new report.

The first global analysis of all mass-produced plastics has found that it has outstripped most other man-made materials, threatening a "near permanent contamination of the natural environment".