Plastic pollution worsens the effects on all planetary boundaries, such as climate change, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss, according to a recent study. As the final discussions on the international Plastics Treaty approach, researchers are urging policymakers to stop regarding plastic pollution simply as a waste management issue.
“It’s vital to consider the entire life cycle of plastics, starting with fossil fuel extraction and the initial production of plastic polymers,” states lead author Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez from the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
Plastics are not as harmless and stable as once believed. The new research, conducted by an international group of scientists, employs the planetary boundaries framework to organize the growing body of evidence regarding plastics’ impacts on the environment, health, and quality of life.
Currently, 500 million tons of plastic are produced each year, but only nine percent of that is recycled worldwide. Plastics can be found everywhere, from the peak of Mount Everest to the depths of the Mariana Trench.
The research team conducted a comprehensive review of scientific studies about plastics’ effects on the natural environment. Their findings indicate that plastic pollution is disrupting processes across the entire Earth system and influences urgent global environmental issues, including climate change, biodiversity decline, ocean acidification, and the consumption of freshwater and land resources.
The paper titled “Plastics pollution exacerbates the impacts of all planetary boundaries” stresses the importance of understanding the complexity surrounding plastics. As materials made from synthetic polymers combined with thousands of other chemicals, their consequences are felt throughout their entire life cycle.
“Plastics are often viewed as inert products that protect our belongings or facilitate daily life, which can be ‘easily cleaned up’ once they are discarded. However, this perception is misleading. Plastics result from a mixture of thousands of chemicals, many of which, like endocrine disruptors and persistent chemicals, are toxic and harmful to ecosystems and human health. We should recognize plastics as these chemical combinations that we encounter in our daily routines,” notes PhD candidate Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez from the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.
Until recently, scientific research largely separated these impacts instead of addressing their interconnections. Furthermore, public discussion and policies have largely treated plastics as primarily a waste issue.
“The effects of plastics on the Earth system are intricate and interconnected. This research clearly shows how plastics are contributing to system destabilization,” comments co-author Sarah Cornell, an associate professor at the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
The team proposes a set of control variables to integrate plastic pollution into the application of the Planetary Boundaries framework. Their impact pathway approach considers three essential stages throughout the life cycle of plastics: raw material extraction, production and usage; environmental release and fate; and effects on the Earth system.
“We stress the importance of accounting for impacts at every stage of the plastics life cycle instead of attempting to find a single measurable planetary boundary threshold. We suggest a collection of control variables that, when used together, will help us better understand and manage plastic pollution,” said Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez.
The researchers reviewed publicly available data on global plastic production. In 2022, the latest year for which data exists, at least 506 million tons of plastic were produced worldwide, totaling around 11,090 million tons since production began in 1950. They highlight significant difficulties in obtaining accurate data on plastic production and consumption for these figures.
The way data is reported varies by polymer type, with a lack of standardization, methodological details, and metadata on their sources and assumptions. This inconsistency undermines transparent aggregation and uncertainty assessments, complicating both research and policy responses.
However, the existing evidence clearly indicates that plastics contribute to environmental issues on a planetary scale, both directly and through complex interactions and cumulative effects.
Many individuals around the world are already experiencing severe conditions due to breached planetary boundaries. Understanding how plastics interact with these boundaries can help craft more sustainable responses, integrating them into climate change, biodiversity, and natural resource management policies.
“We now discover plastics in the most isolated regions on Earth and within human bodies. We recognize that plastics are complex materials released throughout their life cycle, causing damage across many systems. The solutions we aim to develop must factor in this complexity, addressing the full spectrum of safety and sustainability to protect both people and the planet,” says co-author Professor Bethanie Carney Almroth from the University of Gothenburg.
As negotiations on the international Plastics Treaty come to a close, the research team urges experts and policymakers to transition away from viewing plastics pollution solely as a waste issue, advocating instead for a comprehensive approach that considers material flows throughout the entire impact pathway. This method allows for timely and effective detection, attribution, and mitigation of the environmental effects of plastics.
