Already in 2021, plastic pollution was found to fulfill the criteria to be considered a planetary boundary threat by being (i) ubiquitous, (ii) not easily reversible, and (iii) creating hazards disrupting earth system processes (FPF reported). One year later, Persson et al. found “novel entities” (i.e., synthetic chemicals used in pesticides or consumer products) exceeding amounts the Earth can handle without negatively affecting the global processes upon which human life depends; with plastics being an important part of that chemical pollution (FPF reported).
Now, Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez from Stockholm University, Sweden, and co-authors outlin that plastics, as a novel entity, impact all eight planetary boundaries through interactions with Earth system components. In their literature review published on November 7, 2024, in the peer-reviewed journal One Earth, the scientists provide examples of these interactions. For instance, greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production, use, and waste management contribute to climate change (FPF reported), and microplastics affect biosphere integrity (e.g., by changing the microbial communities in soils). Consequently, “plastics pollution…amplifies the impacts of other already breached planetary boundaries.” Conversely, changes in other boundary threats, such as ocean acidification, freshwater change, and climate change, can aggravate the impacts of plastic pollution on ecosystems.
Villarrubia-Gómez and co-authors also discuss ways forward. Instead of considering plastic pollution only as a waste management problem, they stress to acknowledge plastic-related problems throughout the material’s life cycle on health and human rights as well as the broader connections with climate change, biodiversity, and natural resource use.
They “call for experts and policymakers to take urgent action at all stages of plastics production and use so that the Earth system effects of plastics can be detected, attributed, and mitigated in a timely and effective way.” Here, the multilateral legally binding plastics treaty and the discussed cap on production (already recommended by Persson et al., FPF reported), can be one step in the right direction (FPF reported and here). The final scheduled round of negotiations (INC-5) towards plastics treaty will take place from November 25 to December 1, 2024 in Busan, South Korea.
Reference
Villarrubia-Gómez S. et al. (2024). “Plastics pollution exacerbates the impacts of all planetary boundaries.” One Earth. DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2024.10.017
