Top Research Papers on Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution is now pervasive in the Arctic, even in areas with no apparent human activity, such as the deep seafloor. In this Review, we describe the sources and impacts of Arctic plastic pollution, including plastic debris and microplastics, which have infiltrated terrestrial and aquatic systems, the cryosphere and the atmosphere. Although some pollution is from local sources — fisheries, landfills, wastewater and offshore industrial activity — distant regions are a substantial source, as plastic is carried from lower latitudes to the Arctic by ocean currents, atmospheric transport and ...

A comprehensive approach is needed that combines technology, policymaking, and advocacy to prevent further plastic pollution and the subsequent damage to aquatic ecosystems and human health and the goal of this study was to address this gap.

The open burning of plastic wastes is a practice that is highly prevalent across the globe, toxic to human and environmental health, and a critical—but often overlooked—aspect of plastic pollution. Most of the countries where such burning is widespread have laws and policies in place against it; open burning continues nevertheless. In this article, using data from ethnographic fieldwork in urban and rural sites in India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Zambia, we examine local practices of open burning and investigate why regulations to tackle it have proven largely ineffective. Adopting a har...

The field of polymer science recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. The excellent material properties of a wide range of plastics (generally used as a synonym for polymers) have opened many new opportunities in lightweight packaging, agricultural fields for improved crop production, cosmetics, detergents, and more advanced applications, among many others. During the journey of polymer science, various topics have attracted particular attention because they have promised technological advancements or new challenges relevant to the needs of the time. Each has led to intense research, develop...

The current status of plastic pollution in the marine ecosystem is demonstrated to make aware people of a plastic-free, healthy blue ocean in the near future and development of proposals/solutions on key research gaps can open a novel pathway to address this environmental issue in an effective scientific manner.

The conclusion is that BPs may be a part of the solution to solve the global plastic pollution through BPs, and the effectiveness in providing environmentally solutions for plastic waste management depends on the combination of affordable waste classification technologies and investment in organic waste treatment facilities.

Evidence of plastic ingestion by 206 freshwater species, from invertebrates to mammals, in natural or semi-natural ecosystems is found, and other consequences of synthetic polymers in freshwater ecosystems are reported.

It is identified that human commensal birds, long-life-span birds, and model bird species could be utilized to different research objectives to evaluate plastic pollution burden and toxicological effects of chronic plastic exposure.

Coral reefs are losing the capacity to sustain their biological functions 1 . In addition to other well-known stressors, such as climatic change and overfishing 1 , plastic pollution is an emerging threat to coral reefs, spreading throughout reef food webs 2 , and increasing disease transmission and structural damage to reef organisms 3 . Although recognized as a global concern 4 , the distribution and quantity of plastics trapped in the world's coral reefs remains uncertain 3 . Here we survey 84 shallow and deep coral ecosystems at 25 locations across the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian ocean ba...

Plastic production is an essential part of the world economy that has mushroomed exponentially with c.9.2 billion tonnes estimated to have been made between 1950 and 2017. Now, each year c.8-11 million tonnes of plastic waste escapes into the oceans. Plastic usage is varied but the packaging industry accounts for 47%. Recycling and the circular economy are seen as keys to unlocking the plastic problem, for example, via the Extended Producer Responsibility scheme; a Deposit Return Scheme. The circular economy is a fine idea and has been around a long time, but has it made any real difference? T...

This review analyzes the subject focus of 45 articles (published 2019–2021), dealing with government action to regulate plastic pollution. Policies described in the articles and introduced between 2016 and 2021 are clustered in four categories: production – consumption – disposal – circular approaches. Our results show that most published articles deal with bans on single-use plastic (SUP) items in one or more countries. While SUP bags are still the most regulated items, there is a growing number of regulations on other SUP items, such as Styrofoam products or microbeads. While policies and re...

The rational response to the global threat posed by accumulating and poorly reversible plastic pollution is to rapidly reduce plastic emissions through reductions in consumption of virgin plastic materials, along with internationally coordinated strategies for waste management.

Brand names can be used to hold plastic companies accountable for their items found polluting the environment. We used data from a 5-year (2018–2022) worldwide (84 countries) program to identify brands found on plastic items in the environment through 1576 audit events. We found that 50% of items were unbranded, calling for mandated producer reporting. The top five brands globally were The Coca-Cola Company (11%), PepsiCo (5%), Nestlé (3%), Danone (3%), and Altria (2%), accounting for 24% of the total branded count, and 56 companies accounted for more than 50%. There was a clear and strong log...

Unsustainable plastic production, use and mismanagement has resulted in increased global plastic pollution and subsequent degradation into micro(nano)plastics in the environment threatening sustainability. Micro(nano)plastic pollution is pervasive and has caused widespread ecological impacts globally, including greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change. Although downstream strategies to curb plastic pollution exist, they are ineffective in the face of current plastic production and waste generation which is still outpacing existing regulations. Thus, the international community ...

Assessment of three broad management strategies, plastic waste reduction, waste management, and environmental recovery, at different levels of effort to estimate plastic emissions to 2030 for 173 countries found that 19 to 23 million metric tons, or 11%, of plastic waste generated globally in 2016 entered aquatic ecosystems.

Biodegradable plastics are promising alternatives to conventional, persistent plastics. In this opinion article, we discuss the benefits of biodegradable plastics in combination with appropriate disposal systems. We argue that the most beneficial environmental value of biodegradable plastics is in the areas of packaging, single-use items, and agricultural plastic mulches. While biodegradable plastics need to be an integral component of strategies to minimize plastic pollution of the environment, they have to be used and managed with specific end-of-life scenarios. Disposal in the environment, ...

Researchers are studying how more-sophisticated policies, smarter recycling and new materials could stem the tide of waste. Researchers are studying how more-sophisticated policies, smarter recycling and new materials could stem the tide of waste.

This Perspective aims to place nanoplastic in the context of global plastic pollution by assessing its sources and risks, and by assessing commonalities nanoplastics may share with other nanosized objects in environmental systems.

Along 24 beaches of the Central Caribbean Coast of Colombia, plastic items were collected and grouped into 43 different typologies, suggesting a combination of sources that primarily include dumping and direct activities on the beach.

The present analysis develops a common ground between studies and identifies knowledge gaps where new research efforts should be focused, to better determine potential feedbacks of plastics on the carbon biogeochemistry of a changing ocean.