A new study shows how plastic pollution worsens critical environmental issues like climate change and ocean acidification, highlighting the need for systemic change in handling plastics.
Plastic pollution is contributing to the deterioration of the Earth’s key environmental systems, according to a new study led by Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez from the Stockholm Resilience Centre. The research integrates the planetary boundaries framework to examine the full life cycle of plastics and its cumulative impacts, from raw material extraction to environmental release and systemic effects.
“Seeking solutions, it is necessary to consider the full life cycle of plastics, starting from the extraction of fossil fuel and the primary plastic polymer production,” lead author Villarrubia-Gómez, a doctoral candidate, said in a news release.
Every year, 500 million tons of plastics are produced globally, but only 9% of this is recycled. The pervasiveness of plastics — found everywhere from the highest peak of Mount Everest to the deepest ocean trench — magnifies their impact on the environment and human health.
The study, published in the journal One Earth, synthesizes existing scientific literature to explicitly link plastic pollution with major global environmental challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification and resource depletion.
“Plastics are often seen as something that makes our lives easier and that can be ‘easily cleaned-up’ once it becomes waste. But this is far from reality,” added Villarrubia-Gómez. “Most plastics are made up of thousands of different chemicals. Many of them, such as endocrine disruptors and forever chemicals, which pose toxicity and harm to ecosystems and human health.”
Previous research has often looked at these environmental impacts in isolation, ignoring the complex interplay between them. Public policy and general discourse have traditionally framed plastics as a waste issue rather than considering their broader systemic effects.
“The impacts of plastics in the Earth system are complex and interconnected, and this work clearly demonstrates how plastics are acting to destabilize the system,” co-author Sarah Cornell, an associate professor at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, said in the news release.
The researchers propose new control variables that can integrate plastic pollution into the planetary boundaries framework, underscoring the need for a holistic approach that encompasses all stages of plastic’s life cycle. In 2022 alone, global plastic production reached 506 million tons, accumulating a staggering 11,090 million tons since 1950.
The study highlights significant challenges in tracking plastics production and use due to inconsistent data reporting and lack of methodological standardization. Despite this, the evidence showcases the far-reaching impacts of plastics on the environment, confirming their role in intensifying planetary crises.
“The solutions we strive to develop must be considered with this complexity in mind, addressing the full spectra of safety and sustainability to protect people and the planet,” added co-author Bethanie Carney Almroth, a professor of ecotoxicology and environmental science in the Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg.
As international negotiations for the Plastics Treaty draw to a close, the study advocates for a paradigm shift in addressing plastic pollution. Experts and policymakers are urged to move beyond viewing it merely as a waste management issue and to implement measures that consider the entire lifecycle of plastics.
This integrative perspective can support more sustainable policy responses and effectively mitigate the environmental and health impacts of plastics, aligning them with broader objectives tackling climate change and biodiversity loss.
The findings stress an urgent reconsideration of strategies to control plastic pollution in order to safeguard our planet’s future.