Multiple reports of the Central Pollution Control Board note that the data related to plastic waste generation in India is inadequate, and incomplete. Many local bodies are not recording and reporting plastic waste generation data as required by the rules. Plastic is found in almost everything that people use in their day-to-day lives, leaving almost practically nothing that is devoid of plastic material in the modern world. Owing to its cheaper cost, easy availability and other reasons, the world has seen a significant rise in the volume of plastic production, especially in the last two decades. According to the 2019 report published by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Global Plastic Production is over 150 Million Tons every year, with average Per Capita Consumption being 28 kilograms or 76 grams per day. This is higher than the annual average per capita consumption of protein, which is 68 grams per day. In other words, these statistics show the alarming level of plastic usage globally. On the flip side, the production and usage of plastic also cause several million tons of plastic waste. This waste is globally well known to cause widespread and debilitating impacts on the environment, humans, animals, birds, and other species. This consequential pollution is one of the major and important environmental issues affecting almost every single person in the contemporary world, causing various types of long-lasting damage. In this story, we look at the Global and Indian situation of plastic production, consumption, waste generation and the consequential impacts that are experienced. Methodology The data has been sourced from Plastic Waste Dataset available on Dataful, which has been compiled from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Annual Reports. The same data is used for analysis in this story. Plastic Types and Usages The Plastic Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 (PWM Rules) define ‘Plastic’ as any material that contains high Polymers as an essential ingredient. Accordingly, there are about 7 types of most common plastics that are used, utilized, and consumed in different materials in different ways. The above list of types of plastics and their diverse usage is not complete, however, the list shows that plastic usage is to be found in materials which are as tiny as pens, tea glasses, toys to bigger materials such as paints, cables, batteries, etc. Therefore, as the MoHUA 2019 report notes, plastic usage has become an integral part of daily life in the modern world. As a result, we see the generation of huge quantities of Plastic Waste across the Globe. Global Plastic Waste Generation is more than Carrying Capacity of Earth The MoHUA 2019 report also highlights that globally only about 10% of the plastic waste that is generated is recycled and the rest of the waste is either incinerated, landfilled, or left as waste without any treatment or management. This clearly underlines the piling of plastic waste across the globe. According to the Global Environmental Action (EA) group’s latest 2023 report, the volume of plastic waste being created across the world is so much so that currently the globe is experiencing 157 plastic overshoot days a year, which means that the plastic waste generated in a year is more than carrying capacity of the earth for about 157 days. Thus, it explains the unbelievable levels to which plastic waste generation has grown in the world. According to the same EA report, plastic production is going to double by 2040 and the consequential plastic waste generation is going to be tripled. Therefore, these facts underline that very shortly, the earth could well reach full 365 plastic overshoot days or even more. Thus, the consequential impacts that are going to be witnessed could well be more than what has already been experienced. The Menacing Impacts of Plastic are Widely Acknowledged & Witnessed across the Globe The widespread and far-reaching consequential impacts of plastic waste and its pollution are well-known and have been well-acknowledged over the years. The MoHUA 2019 report underlines the multiple types of damages that are caused as a result of plastic waste generated and the pollution caused by it. The same are summarized below. The above official data clearly shows the long-lasting, irreversible, and highly damaging impacts of plastic waste. India records only a partial amount of Plastic Waste Generated The global data and menacing impact reveal a dreadful scenario of the present state of the contemporary world. The data for India shows that the situation is no different. It begins with the fundamental problem of not having an efficient enforcement system for mandatorily recording day-to-day plastic waste generated across the country.