Plastics have outgrown most man-made materials and have long been under environmental scrutiny. However, robust global information, particularly about their end-of-life fate, is lacking. By identifying and synthesizing dispersed data on production, use, and end-of-life management of polymer resins, synthetic fibers, and additives, we present the first global analysis of all mass-produced plastics ever manufactured. We estimate that 8300 million metric tons (Mt) as of virgin plastics have been produced to date. As of 2015, approximately 6300 Mt of plastic waste had been generated, around 9% of which had been recycled, 12% was incinerated, and 79% was accumulated in landfills or the natural environment. If current production and waste management trends continue, roughly 12,000 Mt of plastic waste will be in landfills or in the natural environment by 2050.

Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made

Distribution and importance of microplastics in the marine environment: A review of the sources, fate, effects, and potential solutions

Human activity is leaving a pervasive and persistent signature on Earth. Vigorous debate continues about whether this warrants recognition as a new geologic time unit known as the Anthropocene. We review anthropogenic markers of functional changes in the Earth system through the stratigraphic record. The appearance of manufactured materials in sediments, including aluminum, plastics, and concrete, coincides with global spikes in fallout radionuclides and particulates from fossil fuel combustion. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles have been substantially modified over the past century. Rates of sea-level rise and the extent of human perturbation of the climate system exceed Late Holocene changes. Biotic changes include species invasions worldwide and accelerating rates of extinction. These combined signals render the Anthropocene stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene and earlier epochs.

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/351/6269/aad2622.full.pdf

The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene

The distribution and abundance of microplastics into the world are so extensive that many scientists use them as key indicators of the recent and contemporary period defining a new historical epoch: The Plasticene. However, the implications of microplastics are not yet thoroughly understood. There is considerable complexity involved to understand their impact due to different physical–chemical properties that make microplastics multifaceted stressors. If, on the one hand, microplastics carry toxic chemicals in the ecosystems, thus serving as vectors of transport, they are themselves, on the other hand, a cocktail of hazardous chemicals that are added voluntarily during their production as additives to increase polymer properties and prolong their life. To date, there is a considerable lack of knowledge on the major additives of concern that are used in the plastic industry, on their fate once microplastics dispose into the environment, and on their consequent effects on human health when associated with micro and nanoplastics. The present study emphasizes the most toxic and dangerous chemical substances that are contained in all plastic products to describe the effects and implications of these hazardous chemicals on human health, providing a detailed overview of studies that have investigated their abundance on microplastics. In the present work, we conducted a capillary review of the literature on micro and nanoplastic exposure pathways and their potential risk to human health to summarize current knowledge with the intention of better focus future research in this area and fill knowledge gaps.

A Detailed Review Study on Potential Effects of Microplastics and Additives of Concern on Human Health.

It is likely that a half-century ago even enthusiastic and optimistic proponents of the synthetic polymer industry (Mr. McGuire included) could not have predicted the massive scale on which synthetic polymers would be manufactured and used today. Ultimately, the future success of this industry will rely on the development of sustainable polymers—materials derived from renewable feedstocks that are safe in both production and use and that can be recycled or disposed of in ways that are environmentally innocuous. Meeting these criteria in an economical manner cannot be achieved without transformative basic research that is the hallmark of this journal. In this Perspective we highlight five research topics—the synthesis of renewable monomers and of degradable polymers, the development of chemical recycling strategies, new classes of reprocessable thermosets, and the design of advanced catalysts—that we believe will play a vital role in the development of sustainable polymers. We also offer our outlook on sev...

https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10026121

50th Anniversary Perspective: There Is a Great Future in Sustainable Polymers

https://faculty.eas.ualberta.ca/wolfe/eprints/Zalasiewicz_Plastics.pdf

The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene

In this chapter, we focus on the occurrence, behavior, and interactions of environmental plastics within a geological framework, considering their transport pathways, behavior as “sedimentary” particles, and longevity and fate in a range of sedimentary settings. We consider the processes that act upon plastics, including chemical, physical, and biological, in their cradle-to-grave journey. We assess how much plastic leaks into the surface environment, where it is concentrated, and in what forms it may occur in the near-, medium-, and long-term future.

The geography and geology of plastics: their environmental distribution and fate

http://methods-x.com/article/S2215016123000560/pdf

Yasmin Yonan

Papers

The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene

The geography and geology of plastics: their environmental distribution and fate

Easy and accessible way to calibrate a fluorescence microscope and to create a microplastic identification key