Plastic pollution: Difference between revisions

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As of 2019, 368''&nbsp;''million tonnes of plastic is produced each year; 51% in Asia, where China is the world's largest producer.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.plasticseurope.org/application/files/8016/1125/2189/AF_Plastics_the_facts-WEB-2020-ING_FINAL.pdf |title=Plastics – the Facts 2020 |access-date=6 October 2021 |archive-date=1 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901235830/https://www.plasticseurope.org/application/files/8016/1125/2189/AF_Plastics_the_facts-WEB-2020-ING_FINAL.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> From the 1950s up to 2018, an estimated 6.3''&nbsp;''billion tonnes of plastic has been produced worldwide, of which an estimated 9% has been recycled and another 12% has been [[incinerated]].<ref name="economist.com">{{cite news |title=The known unknowns of plastic pollution |url=https://www.economist.com/news/international/21737498-so-far-it-seems-less-bad-other-kinds-pollution-about-which-less-fuss-made |access-date=17 June 2018 |newspaper=The Economist |date=3 March 2018}}</ref> This large amount of plastic waste enters the environment and causes problems throughout the ecosystem; for example, studies suggest that the bodies of 90% of seabirds contain plastic debris.<ref name=":16">{{cite web |url=https://globalnomadic.com/turning-rubbish-into-money-environmental-innovation-leads-the-way/|title=Turning rubbish into money – environmental innovation leads the way|first=Global|last=Nomadic|date=29 February 2016}}</ref><ref name="plasticizer" /> In some areas there have been significant efforts to reduce the prominence of free range plastic pollution, through reducing plastic consumption, litter cleanup, and promoting [[plastic recycling]].<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/j.resconrec.2018.02.014|title = A call for Canada to move toward zero plastic waste by reducing and recycling single-use plastics| journal=Resources, Conservation and Recycling| volume=133| pages=99–100|year = 2018|last1 = Walker|first1 = Tony R.| last2=Xanthos| first2=Dirk|s2cid = 117378637}}</ref><ref name=":17">{{cite web |url=https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/picking-litter-pointless-exercise-or-powerful-tool-battle-beat-plastic |title=Picking up litter: Pointless exercise or powerful tool in the battle to beat plastic pollution? |author=<!--Not stated-->|date=18 May 2018 |website=unenvironment.org |access-date=19 July 2019}}</ref>

 

 

 

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[[File:Decomposition rates of marine debris items, OWID.svg|thumb|Average estimated decomposition times of typical marine debris items. Plastic items are shown in blue.]]

{{Main|Polymer degradation}}

 

=== Persistent organic pollutants ===

 

==== Plastic pollution as a cause of climate change ====

 

The emissions of methane from plastic decomposition and impact on phytoplankton, were still not known well when the report was released. According to one estimate, plastic floating in the ocean can emit annually 76 Mt methane equal to 2,129 Mt CO2e, based on the 100 years [[global warming potential]] of methane. But these numbers are very preliminary. From one side, it can be an overestimate as it is based on the emissions of LDPE in powder form, the most emission intensive type of plastic in this case and in tropical water where intense radiation increases decomposition. But from the other side it can be an underestimate, as it is not including the decomposition of plastic on land which is probably more emission intensive, the effects on phytoplankton which can be significant, the emissions from submerged plastic. Therefore, the authors prefer to not include them in the official estimate, but to write them in the full report, as a base for further discussion noting the high importance of the problem.<ref>{{cite book |title=Plastic & Climate The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet |date=2019 |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), FracTracker Alliance, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), 5Gyres, Break free from plastic |pages=69–77 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Plastic-and-Climate-FINAL-2019.pdf |access-date=7 February 2024}}</ref>

A 2017 study found that 83% of tap water samples taken around the world contained plastic pollutants.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://orbmedia.org/stories/Invisibles_plastics|title=Invisibles|website=orbmedia.org|access-date=15 September 2017|archive-date=6 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906172409/https://orbmedia.org/stories/Invisibles_plastics|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://orbmedia.org/stories/Invisibles_final_report|title=Synthetic Polymer Contamination in Global Drinking Water|website=orbmedia.org|access-date=19 September 2017}}</ref> This was the first study to focus on global [[Water quality|drinking water pollution]] with plastics,<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://phys.org/news/2017-09-plastic.html|title=Your tap water may contain plastic, researchers warn (Update)|access-date=15 September 2017}}</ref> and showed that with a contamination rate of 94%, tap water in the [[United States]] was the most polluted, followed by [[Lebanon]] and [[India]]. European countries such as the [[United Kingdom]], [[Germany]] and [[France]] had the lowest contamination rate, though still as high as 72%.<ref name=":1" /> This means that people may be ingesting between 3,000 and 4,000 [[microparticle]]s of plastic from tap water per year.<ref name=":2" /> The analysis found particles of more than 2.5 microns in size, which is 2500 times bigger than a [[nanometer]]. It is currently unclear if this contamination is affecting human health, but if the water is also found to contain nano-particle pollutants, there could be adverse impacts on human well-being, according to scientists associated with the study.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/sep/06/plastic-fibres-found-tap-water-around-world-study-reveals|title=Plastic fibres found in tap water around the world, study reveals |first=Damian |last=Carrington |date=5 September 2017|work=The Guardian|access-date=15 September 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

 

 

==== In terrestrial ecosystems ====

 

=== Effects on freshwater ecosystems ===

 

Plastics make their way into bodies of freshwater, underground aquifers, and moving freshwaters through runoff and erosion of mismanaged plastic waste (MMPW). In some areas, the direct waste disposal into rivers is a remaining factor of historical practices, and has only been somewhat limited by modern legislation.<ref name=":04">{{Cite journal |last1=Azevedo-Santos |first1=Valter M. |last2=Brito |first2=Marcelo F. G. |last3=Manoel |first3=Pedro S. |last4=Perroca |first4=Júlia F. |last5=Rodrigues-Filho |first5=Jorge Luiz |last6=Paschoal |first6=Lucas R. P. |last7=Gonçalves |first7=Geslaine R. L. |last8=Wolf |first8=Milena R. |last9=Blettler |first9=Martín C. M. |last10=Andrade |first10=Marcelo C. |last11=Nobile |first11=André B. |date=2021 |title=Plastic pollution: A focus on freshwater biodiversity |journal=Ambio |language=en |volume=50 |issue=7 |pages=1313–1324 |doi=10.1007/s13280-020-01496-5 |issn=0044-7447 |pmc=8116388 |pmid=33543362|bibcode=2021Ambio..50.1313A }}</ref> Rivers are the primary transport of plastics into marine ecosystems, sourcing potentially 80% of the plastic pollution in the oceans.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Winton |first1=Debbie J. |last2=Anderson |first2=Lucy G. |last3=Rocliffe |first3=Stephen |last4=Loiselle |first4=Steven |date=2020 |title=Macroplastic pollution in freshwater environments: Focusing public and policy action |journal=Science of the Total Environment |language=en |volume=704 |pages=135242 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135242|pmid=31812404 |bibcode=2020ScTEn.704m5242W |s2cid=208955699 |doi-access=free |hdl=11365/1128793 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Ritchie">{{cite journal |last1=Ritchie |first1=Hannah |last2=Roser |first2=Max |title=Where does the plastic in our oceans come from? |url=https://ourworldindata.org/ocean-plastics |journal=Our World in Data |date=May 1, 2021 |access-date=30 April 2024}}</ref> Research on the top ten river catchments ranked by annual amount of MMPW showed that some rivers contribute as high as 88–95% of ocean-bound plastics, the highest being the [[Yangtze]] River into the East China Sea.<ref name="10.1021/acs.est.7b02368">{{Cite journal |last1=Schmidt |first1=Christian |last2=Krauth |first2=Tobias |last3=Wagner |first3=Stephan |date=2017-11-07 |title=Export of Plastic Debris by Rivers into the Sea |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.7b02368 |journal=Environmental Science & Technology |language=en |volume=51 |issue=21 |pages=12246–12253 |doi=10.1021/acs.est.7b02368 |pmid=29019247 |bibcode=2017EnST...5112246S |issn=0013-936X}}</ref> Asian rivers contribute nearly 67% of plastic waste found in the ocean annually, largely influenced by the high density coastal populations all throughout the continent as well as relatively intense bouts of seasonal rainfall.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lebreton |first1=Laurent C. M. |last2=van der Zwet |first2=Joost |last3=Damsteeg |first3=Jan-Willem |last4=Slat |first4=Boyan |last5=Andrady |first5=Anthony |last6=Reisser |first6=Julia |date=2017 |title=River plastic emissions to the world's oceans |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=15611 |doi=10.1038/ncomms15611 |pmid=28589961 |pmc=5467230 |bibcode=2017NatCo...815611L |issn=2041-1723}}</ref>

=== Effects on humans ===

[[File:Refuse Recycling site.jpg|thumb|The site where the refuse is being recycled in Ghana]]

 

Human health has also been negatively impacted by plastic pollution. "Almost a third of groundwater sites in the US contain BPA. BPA is harmful at very low concentrations as it interferes with our hormone and reproductive systems.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 20, 2019|title=Report: Plastic Threatens Human Health at a Global Scale|url=https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/blog/2019/2/20/report-plastic-threatens-human-health-at-a-global-scale.|access-date=December 14, 2021|website=Plastic Pollution Coalition}}</ref> This quote tells us how much of a percentage of our water is contaminated and should not be drunk on a daily basis. "At every stage of its lifecycle, plastic poses distinct risks to human health, arising from both exposure to plastic particles themselves and associated chemicals".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ocean Plastics Pollution.|url=http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825233910/http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/ocean_plastics/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 August 2012|access-date=17 May 2019|website=Center for Biological Diversity}}</ref> This quote is an intro to numerous points of why plastic is damaging to us, such as the carbon that is released when it is being made and transported which is also related to how plastic pollution harms our environment.

===== Sex hormones =====

BPA can disrupt normal, physiological levels of [[sex hormone]]s. It does this by binding to [[globulin]]s that normally bind to sex hormones such as [[androgen]]s and [[estrogen]]s, leading to the disruption of the balance between the two. BPA can also affect the [[metabolism]] or the [[catabolism]] of sex hormones. It often acts as an [[antiandrogen]] or as an estrogen, which can cause disruptions in gonadal development and sperm production.<ref name="plasticizer" />

 

=== Disease ===

In January 2019 a "Global [[Alliance to End Plastic Waste]]" was created by companies in the plastics industry. The alliance aims to clean the environment from existing waste and increase recycling, but it does not mention reduction in plastic production as one of its targets.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Staff |first1=Waste360 |title=New Global Alliance to End Plastic Waste Has Launched |url=https://www.waste360.com/plastics/new-global-alliance-end-plastic-waste-has-launched |website=Waste360 |access-date=18 January 2019|date=16 January 2019 }}</ref> Moreover, subsequent reporting has suggested the group is a [[greenwashing]] initiative.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Inside Big Plastic's Faltering $1.5 Billion Global Cleanup Effort |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2022-exxon-mobil-plastic-waste-cleanup-greenwashing/ |access-date=2023-02-22}}</ref><ref name="cite2">{{cite web |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=August 2022 |title=Alliance to End Plastic Waste: Barely Credible |url=https://planet-tracker.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/AEPW.pdf |website=planet-tracker.org/}}</ref><ref name="Ciitc1">{{cite web |title='It's a pipe dream': Green groups blast plastic makers' recycling push |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/it-s-a-pipe-dream-green-groups-blast-plastic-makers-recycling-push/ar-BB1eXlDl |website=www.msn.com}}</ref>

 

 

Around 100 countries implemented single use plastic bags bans or taxes, which successfully reduced pollution and had public support. Many implemented measures to reduce the use of "single use cutlery, straws, balloon sticks, and coffee buds".<ref>{{cite news |title='Really encouraging': Plastic bag bans work, say campaigners. Where is Europe lagging behind? |url=https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/04/05/really-encouraging-plastic-bag-bans-work-say-campaigners-where-is-europe-lagging-behind |access-date=7 February 2024 |agency=Euronews |date=5 April 2023}}</ref>

 

{{See also|Category:Organisms breaking down plastic}}

 

=== Incineration ===

Up to 60% of used plastic medical equipment is incinerated rather than deposited in a landfill as a precautionary measure to lessen the transmission of disease. This has allowed for a large decrease in the amount of plastic waste that stems from medical equipment.<ref name="plastics environ health" />

 

 

=== Policy ===

 

The export of plastic waste from rich countries to poorer countries has been well documented.

 

There have been several international covenants which address marine plastic pollution, such as the [[London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter|Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972]], the [[MARPOL 73/78|International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973]] and the Honolulu Strategy, there is nothing around plastics which infiltrate the ocean from the land.<ref name="Farrelly">{{Cite journal |last1=Farrelly |first1=Trisia |author-link=Trisia Farrelly |last2=Green |first2=Laura |date=2020-05-11 |title=The Global Plastic Pollution Crisis: how should New Zealand respond? |url=https://ojs.victoria.ac.nz/pq/article/view/6484 |journal=Policy Quarterly |language=en |volume=16 |issue=2 |doi=10.26686/pq.v16i2.6484 |issn=2324-1101 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Honolulu Strategy |url=https://www.unep.org/resources/report/honolulu-strategy |website=UNEP - UN Environment Programme |language=en |date=31 August 2017}}</ref>

== Obstruction by major plastic producers ==

[[File:Surgical mask in dry grass at Brädgårdsvägen in Brastad.jpg|thumb|[[Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic|Surgical mask]] among dry grass in [[Brastad]] during the COVID-19 pandemic]]

 

PepsiCo faced legal action on 15 November 2023, as the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit. The allegations asserted that the food and beverage giant jeopardized the environment and disseminated deceptive information about its dedication to reducing single-use plastic in packaging. Moreover, a substantial portion of the plastic pollution along the Buffalo River was linked to products manufactured by the company.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nerkar |first=Santul |date=2023-11-15 |title=New York Attorney General Sues Pepsi Over Plastic Packaging |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/15/business/pepsi-plastic-recycling-lawsuit.html |access-date=2023-11-19 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

* [[Burning]]

* [[Eddy pumping]] – The role of mesoscale eddies in trapping and transporting plastic in the ocean

* [[Plastic-eating organisms]]

* [[Marine plastic pollution]]

* [https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/plastic-problem-recycling-myth-big-oil-950957/ Planet Plastic: How Big Oil and Big Soda kept a global environmental calamity a secret for decades]. ''Rolling Stone''. 3 March 2020.

* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55006333 Plastics an 'unfolding disaster' for US marine life]. BBC, 19 November 2020.

 

== External links ==