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Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made

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TLDR
By identifying and synthesizing dispersed data on production, use, and end-of-life management of polymer resins, synthetic fibers, and additives, this work presents the first global analysis of all mass-produced plastics ever manufactured.
Abstract
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.

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Effect of Physical Characteristics and Hydrodynamic Conditions on Transport and Deposition of Microplastics in Riverine Ecosystem

TL;DR: In this article, a comprehensive review on physical processes involved in microplastics transport in riverine ecosystems is presented, highlighting how appropriately empirical transport models explain vertical and horizontal distribution of microplastic.
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Adsorption behavior of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) on aged microplastics in antibiotics-heavy metals coexisting system

Hendrik J. W. Drijvers
- 01 Mar 2022 - 
TL;DR: In this article , the impact of antibiotics on the adsorption of heavy metals by aged microplastics was explored, and the negative and positive impacts of CIP on the adaption behavior of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) on aged polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride were investigated.
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Why bad feelings predict good behaviours: The role of positive and negative anticipated emotions on consumer ethical decision making

TL;DR: In this article, the influence of positive and negative anticipated emotions at each stage of the consumer ethical decision making process was measured and the specific emotions that most affect each component of consumer ethical deliberation process and assessed their relative weight in predicting decisions involving ethical issues.
Journal ArticleDOI

Engineering Native and Synthetic Pathways in Pseudomonas putida for the Production of Tailored Polyhydroxyalkanoates

TL;DR: An overview of the metabolic and regulatory circuits that rule PHA accumulation in Pseudomonas putida is provided, and approaches leading to the biosynthesis of novel polymers (e.g., PHAs including nonbiological chemical elements in their structures) are discussed.
Journal ArticleDOI

Adsorption behavior of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) on aged microplastics in antibiotics-heavy metals coexisting system.

TL;DR: In this article, the impact of antibiotics on the adsorption of heavy metals by aged microplastics was explored, and the negative and positive impacts of CIP on the adaption behavior of Cu(II) and Cr(VI) on aged polystyrene and polyvinyl chloride were investigated.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean

TL;DR: This work combines available data on solid waste with a model that uses population density and economic status to estimate the amount of land-based plastic waste entering the ocean, which is estimated to be 275 million metric tons.
Journal ArticleDOI

Accumulation and fragmentation of plastic debris in global environments.

TL;DR: Global plastics production and the accumulation of plastic waste are documented, showing that trends in mega- and macro-plastic accumulation rates are no longer uniformly increasing and that the average size of plastic particles in the environment seems to be decreasing.

What a Waste : A Global Review of Solid Waste Management

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors estimate that the amount of municipal solid waste (MSW) generated by urban populations is growing even faster than the rate of urbanization and that by 2025 this will likely increase to 4.3 billion urban residents.
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Trending Questions (1)
What are the current trends in the production and consumption of plastics?

Current trends show 8300 million metric tons of virgin plastics produced, with 6300 million metric tons of plastic waste generated by 2015. Only 9% recycled, 12% incinerated, and 79% landfilled or in the environment.