How much are we paying for drinking water in (PET) bottles? A global assessment of the hidden costs and potential damage to the environment

Plastic pollution is a global problem of unprecedented magnitude. In particular, marine plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental problems, mainly due to single-use or disposable plastic waste, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. With the aim of quantifying their post-use fate and types of environmental damage, we have carried out the first global calculation of total stocks and fluxes since 1950, as well as an estimate of the value of ecosystem services lost due to the mismanagement and abandonment of PET bottles in the environment. The analysis was conducted by collecting and synthesizing published data on the production, use and end-of-life management of PET bottles. The results show that since the start of plastic production in 1950, about 80 % of all PET bottles produced and used have been mismanaged, littered or dumped. Of this, about 8 %, or about 19 Mt, has been lost to oceans and seas, resulting in global damage costs of about USD 8.6 billion, mainly due to the loss of ecosystem services. For a single PET bottle, this corresponds to a hidden cost estimated at around USD 0.02, which is around 100 % of the current average production price of a 500 ml PET bottle.