At the start of the pandemic the Plastics Industry Assn. lobbied the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, pushing that single-use items were the "most sanitary" option for consumers.
115 health experts then countered that single-use plastics are not necessarily safer than reusable alternatives with respect to COVID-19. In fact, the virus survives as long on plastic as it does on other surfaces such as stainless steel. Smithsonian Magazine.
The global plastic packaging market size is projected to grow $103.4 billion by 2021. Science Magazine.
Households are generating up to 53% more plastic waste by volume than they did pre-COVID-19. ScienceDirect.
Since 1950, we have created 6.4 billion tons of plastic waste, 91% of which has never been recycled. Science Magazine.