The World Is Wasting About $29 Trillion a Year. Here's Where It Goes.

"“Imagine if every time the world made $100, it threw away $31 of it. Not lost. Not saved. Just wasted - in food that rotted before anyone ate it, in phones and washing machines that broke way too soon, and in heat that escaped from factories and power plants.”"

"“The Circularity Gap Report 2026, released this month, puts a price tag on all that waste: €25.4 trillion, or about $29 trillion at today's exchange rate. That is almost 31% of the entire world economy, which is valued at around $96 trillion. The researchers call it the Value Gap - the gap between the value the economy creates and the value it lets slip away.”"

"“For several years, the Circularity Gap Report has tracked one number: the share of materials that are reused or recycled rather than thrown out. That number has been dropping. It fell from 9.1% in 2018 to just 7.2% in 2023, meaning more than 92% of everything we use is extracted from nature, used once or not used at all, and tossed in the trash.”"

"“This year, the researchers tried something different. Instead of measuring waste in pounds of metal or plastic, they measured the cost of waste in euros, which we've converted to dollars. The report explains that it is easier to get governments and big companies to care about waste when you can show them what it costs.”"

The global economy wastes a large share of the value it creates, with annual losses estimated at €25.4 trillion (about $29 trillion). This amount is described as nearly 31% of the world economy. The Circularity Gap Report tracks material circularity and shows a decline from 9.1% in 2018 to 7.2% in 2023, meaning more than 92% of materials are extracted from nature, used once, or not used at all before being discarded. The report reframes waste by measuring its economic cost in euros to make it easier for governments and large companies to prioritize waste reduction. Losses are attributed to end-of-life waste, energy losses, and other categories of value leakage.

Read at Earth911