Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made
Reads0
Chats0
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.read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
A circular economy approach to plastic waste
TL;DR: In this article, a review aims to introduce poly (lactic acid) (PLA), a bioplastic, and recent research within the field, focusing on research surrounding plastic waste management.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microplastic release from the degradation of polypropylene feeding bottles during infant formula preparation
Dunzhu Li,Yunhong Shi,Luming Yang,Liwen Xiao,Daniel K. Kehoe,Yurii K. Gun'ko,Yurii K. Gun'ko,John J. Boland,Jing Jing Wang +8 more
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that infant exposure to microplastics is higher than previously recognized due to the prevalence of polypropylene-based products in formula preparation, highlighting an urgent need to assess whether MPs exposure at these levels pose a risk to infant health.
Journal ArticleDOI
Single-use plastics: Production, usage, disposal, and adverse impacts.
TL;DR: In the face of mounting evidence regarding the threat posed to plant growth, soil invertebrates and other land animals, (sea) birds, and marine ecosystems, there is a growing push to minimize single-use plastics.
Journal ArticleDOI
Plastic debris in rivers
Tim van Emmerik,Anna Schwarz +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the current scientific state on plastic debris in rivers and evaluate existing knowledge gaps, and present an overview of monitoring and modeling efforts to characterize riverine plastic transport, and give examples of typical values from around the world.
Journal ArticleDOI
The United States' contribution of plastic waste to land and ocean
Kara Lavender Law,Natalie Starr,Theodore R. Siegler,Jenna Jambeck,Nicholas Mallos,George H. Leonard +5 more
TL;DR: The amount of plastic waste generated in the United States estimated to enter the coastal environment in 2016 was up to five times larger than that estimated for 2010, rendering theUnited States’ contribution among the highest in the world.
References
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
Jenna Jambeck,Roland Geyer,Chris Wilcox,Theodore R. Siegler,Miriam E. Perryman,Anthony L. Andrady,Ramani Narayan,Kara Lavender Law +7 more
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.
Supplementary Materials for Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean
Jenna Jambeck,Roland Geyer,Chris Wilcox,Theodore R. Siegler,Anthony L. Andrady,Ramani Narayan,Kara Lavender Law +6 more
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.
Journal ArticleDOI
Microplastics in freshwater ecosystems: what we know and what we need to know
Martin Wagner,Christian Scherer,Diana Álvarez-Muñoz,Nicole Brennholt,Xavier Bourrain,Sebastian Buchinger,Elke Fries,Cécile Grosbois,Jörg Klasmeier,Teresa Marti,Sara Rodríguez-Mozaz,Ralph Urbatzka,A. Dick Vethaak,Margrethe Winther-Nielsen,Georg Reifferscheid +14 more
TL;DR: To assess the environmental risk associated with microplastics, comprehensive data on their abundance, fate, sources, and biological effects in freshwater ecosystems are needed.