Opinion: We need better data about the environmental persistence of plastic goods
Plastic pollution is one of the most visible and complex environmental issues today. Interested and concerned parties include researchers, governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, industry, media, and the general public. One key assumption behind the issue and the public outcry is that plastics last indefinitely in the environment, resulting in chronic exposure that harms animals and humans. But the data supporting this assumption are scant. We don't have a complete understanding of how long plastic consumer goods last in the environment. Here, artist Mark Dion displays pieces of plastic retrieved from the ocean. Image credit: Tanya Bonakdar Gallery and Mark Dion (artist) An accurate understanding of the persistence of plastic goods in the environment is critical for many stakeholders. Consumers need reliable information about that persistence to make informed choices. Researchers need this information because persistence is a key factor in models that predict how much plastic waste is in the environment and where it resides (1, 2) as well as the risks associated with this pollution (3) Legislators need this information to develop evidence based policy that bans the use of plastics at the local, national, and international level. The ubiquity of these bans is rivaled only by the range of information that drives public perception of how long it takes for different types of plastic goods to degrade in the environment. Our fundamental belief that scientific evidence should inform the public and drive environmental policy led us to one seemingly simple question: What evidence underpins how long plastic goods last in the environment? To answer this question, we reviewed information graphics and documents reporting the lifetime of different plastic goods in the environment (Figure 1, Table S1) These 57 graphics and documents were published by governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, academic institutions, peer reviewed journals (4) college textbooks (5) reference [1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: cward{at}whoi.edu. [1] #xref corresp 1 1
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences