⁍ Switching to non-plastic alternatives that are currently available, such as wood and metal, could reduce the use of plastics in the construction industry by 95%.

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⁍ North America, Europe and East Asia consume almost two-thirds of the world’s plastics.

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– “Although plastics permeate our lives and every corner of our planet, it is technically possible to largely phase them out,” says a new report from the Overseas Development Institute, per the Thomson Reuters Foundation. And that could mean cutting greenhouse gas emissions by half—or more than half—by 2050. “When somebody buys a plastic product, they don’t actually generate emissions when they’re using it,” says lead researcher Andrew Scott. “But there’s emissions embodied in the product from the previous stages.” The report looked at packaging, construction, and electrical and electronic equipment, which together make up more than 60% of plastic use. North America, Europe, and East Asia consume almost two-thirds of the world’s plastics, the report says. The largest use of plastic is for packaging, accounting for 36% of total output in 2015, followed by construction at 16%. However, switching to non-plastic alternatives that are currently available, such as wood and metal, could reduce the use of plastics in the construction industry by 95%, it says. A combination of regulation on single-use plastics and changes in consumer behavior could cut plastic consumption by 78% in the packaging sector, it adds. There is also much room for improvement with recycling as only about 20% of plastic waste is recycled today, the report noted. North America, Europe, and East Asia consume almost two-thirds of the world’s plastics, the report said. Globally, per-capita consumption of plastics is 103.6 pounds, but in Africa and South Asia, it is less than 10 pounds.