Strong, light and adaptable, it’s in everything from household goods, medical equipment and bank notes, to packaging, motor vehicles, buildings and fishing nets.

As useful as plastic is, excessive use and ineffective waste management mean it has rapidly become one of the most widespread pollutants on our planet. It’s a truly global crisis, suffocating our rivers and oceans, contaminating the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink, and exacerbating climate change.