Plastic pollution has become ubiquitous in modern times, and more use of plastic means more of it discarded in the environment. The evidence is everywhere—along the side of the road, hanging from trees, or littering beaches—and that’s just the plastic that’s easy to see. But plastic is also in drinking water, the air and soil, and even people’s bodies, where it is linked to health risks to digestive and reproductive systems. And plastic production and the open burning of plastic waste can also contribute to heart disease, asthma, cancer, and more. By 2040, one of two things is possible: Plastic pollution will more than double, threatening the climate, the Earth’s biodiversity, and human health—or the global community will transform the world’s plastic system to cut 83% of plastic pollution flowing into the environment and drastically reduce the risks to people and the planet.
Those choices are outlined in a major new report from The Pew Charitable Trusts, “Breaking the Plastic Wave 2025: An Assessment of the Global System and Strategies for Transformative Change,” which documents the scale of today’s plastic pollution problem and details a slate of policies that can solve it within a generation. The research expands on Pew’s groundbreaking 2020 study of plastic pollution in the global ocean to also examine plastic pollution on land and in the air; take a deeper dive into microplastic pollution; and explore plastic’s toll on the environment and human health.
The report also delves into an array of policies proven to address this growing threat while considering the social and economic implications of changing how plastic is made, used, and disposed of worldwide. The policies center on four themes: establishing measures to reduce plastic production and use; rethinking chemical, product (packaging, toys, tires, etc.), and system design; expanding participatory waste management systems; and creating transparency around the plastic supply chain.
“Breaking the Plastic Wave 2025” outlines two scenarios for plastic pollution and its associated risks through 2040: Business as usual, which assumes no action by the global community; and system transformation, which presumes a prompt worldwide effort to reimagine the plastic system.
Under business as usual, plastic pollution more than doubles, dramatically increasing the human health effects of plastics as well as greenhouse gas emissions over the next 15 years.
By comparison, system transformation cuts annual plastic pollution by 83%, including nearly ending pollution from plastic packaging, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions and harm to human health from plastic by 54% and 38%, respectively—all while saving governments worldwide about $US19 billion a year. “This is a solvable problem within a generation,” says Winnie Lau, who leads Pew’s work to reduce plastic pollution. “Our report lays out a clear path to significantly cut plastic pollution and the threat it poses to people and the planet. The only question is, will the world act with ambition and urgency to meet this challenge?”
—Jennifer V. Doctors
