Plastic is causing disease and death at every stage of life, from infancy to old age, according to a major peer-reviewed study published in UK general medical journal, The Lancet.
The review concluded that plastics endanger human and planetary health “at every stage of their lifecycle” – from fossil fuel extraction and production, through use, recycling and disposal. It described the situation as a “grave, growing, and under-recognised danger” and warned that the global “plastic crisis” is responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding US$1.5 trillion each year. The impacts, it said, fall disproportionately on low-income and vulnerable communities.
The study identified plastic production as the main driver of the crisis. Annual production has increased 200-fold since 1950, rising from 2 megatonnes then to 475 megatonnes in 2022. Plastic waste has also soared, with around 8,000 megatonnes now polluting the planet and less than 10% of all plastics ever produced having been recycled.
Despite the scale of the problem, the report stressed that harms can be mitigated with evidence-based laws and policies, backed by enabling measures and effective enforcement. The findings were published as governments meet in Geneva for what is billed as the final round of negotiations on a global plastics treaty, after talks stalled last year in South Korea. While more than 100 nations support capping plastic production, oil-producing states have resisted, favouring only waste reduction targets.
Dan Cooke, Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs at CIWM, said the study’s “timely publishing” highlighted plastics’ economic, environmental and social downsides. “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,” he said. CIWM and the Circular Economy Institute have endorsed a joint business statement urging governments to introduce legally binding frameworks to end plastic pollution, regulate chemicals of concern, and accelerate the transition to a circular economy for plastics.
The Lancet has announced it will launch a new monitoring system – the Lancet Countdown on health and plastics – to track global progress in reducing exposure and harm. Meanwhile, UK MPs have called for binding targets on plastic production as well as measures to safeguard scientific input and environmental protections within treaty negotiations.
Global plastic production and consumption has doubled in the past two decades and is expected to triple by 2060. The carbon footprint is also significant, with plastics linked to 1.7 gigatonnes of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2015.
