Plastics endanger human, planetary health at ‘every stage of their lifecycle,’ study finds

In a new study conducted by The Lancet, scientists found plastics are responsible for endangering human and planetary health at all stages of life. From fossil fuel extraction, production, use, recycling and disposal, the study concluded that plastics are a “grave, growing, and under-recognized danger” causing disease and death.

The “plastic crisis” is responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding $1.5 trillion annually, according to the study.

“Aiming to improve plastics recycling will only ever provide a partial solution and it is imperative that the design, production and consumption of plastic is addressed with new rules and parameters,” Dan Cooke, Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs at the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM), said.

While global plastics production and consumption has doubled over the past two decades and is expected to triple by 2060, governments from different countries are meeting in Geneva, Switzerland for the final round of global plastic pollution treaty negotiations since the countries failed to reach an agreement last year in Busan, South Korea. The concentration is plastic production, which is 200 times higher than in 1950, according to the study. Production increased from 2 megatonnes (Mt) in 1950 to 475 Mt in 2022.

With more than 100 nations onboard to cap plastic production, the study said that the harms of plastic on human and planetary health can be mitigated through “evidence-based laws and policies” and “effective implementation measures,” CIWM reported.

“The Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and the Circular Economy Institute have both endorsed the business roundtable statement calling on the UK and global governments to create legally-binding rules, criteria and regulatory frameworks with clear requirements to end plastic pollution, address chemicals of concern used in plastics, and to agree actions and measures to facilitate the transition to a circular economy for plastics,” Cooke said. “The evidence is clear, we must now see clear leadership and action.”