TY - JOUR

T1 - Plastic pollution requires an integrative systems approach to understand and mitigate risk

AU - Courtene-Jones, Winnie

AU - Clark, Nathaniel J

AU - Thompson, Richard C

N1 - © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society and the Royal Society of Biology.

PY - 2022/12/1

Y1 - 2022/12/1

N2 - To date, much effort has been placed on quantifying plastic pollution and understanding its negative environmental effects, arguably to the detriment of research and evaluation of potential interventions. This has led to piecemeal progress in interventions to reduce plastic pollution, which do not correspond to the pace of emissions. For substances that are used on a global scale and identified as hazardous, there is a need to act before irreversible damage is done. For example, the history of dichlorodiphenyltrichloethane's (DDT) use has demonstrated that legacy chemicals with properties of persistence can still be found in the environment despite being first prohibited 50 years ago. Despite the growing evidence of harm, evidence to inform actions to abate plastic pollution lag behind. In part, this is because of the multifaceted nature of plastic pollution and understanding the connections between social, economic and environmental dimensions are complex. As such we highlight the utility of integrative systems approaches for addressing such complex issues, which unites a diversity of stakeholders (including policy, industry, academia and society), and provides a framework to identify to develop specific, measurable and time-bound international policies on plastic pollution and meet the ambitious yet necessary goals of the UN Plastic Treaty.

AB - To date, much effort has been placed on quantifying plastic pollution and understanding its negative environmental effects, arguably to the detriment of research and evaluation of potential interventions. This has led to piecemeal progress in interventions to reduce plastic pollution, which do not correspond to the pace of emissions. For substances that are used on a global scale and identified as hazardous, there is a need to act before irreversible damage is done. For example, the history of dichlorodiphenyltrichloethane's (DDT) use has demonstrated that legacy chemicals with properties of persistence can still be found in the environment despite being first prohibited 50 years ago. Despite the growing evidence of harm, evidence to inform actions to abate plastic pollution lag behind. In part, this is because of the multifaceted nature of plastic pollution and understanding the connections between social, economic and environmental dimensions are complex. As such we highlight the utility of integrative systems approaches for addressing such complex issues, which unites a diversity of stakeholders (including policy, industry, academia and society), and provides a framework to identify to develop specific, measurable and time-bound international policies on plastic pollution and meet the ambitious yet necessary goals of the UN Plastic Treaty.

KW - Plastics

KW - Environmental Pollution/prevention & control

KW - Industry

KW - Public Policy

KW - Systems Analysis

U2 - 10.1042/ETLS20220018

DO - 10.1042/ETLS20220018

M3 - Article

C2 - 36453918

VL - 6

SP - 435

EP - 439

JO - Emerging topics in life sciences

JF - Emerging topics in life sciences

SN - 2397-8554

IS - 4

ER -