<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/nov/07/plastic-pollution-is-changing-entire-earth-system-scientists-find>
"Plastic pollution is changing the processes of the entire Earth system,
exacerbating climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, and the
use of freshwater and land, according to scientific analysis.
Plastic must not be treated as a waste problem alone, the authors said, but as
a product that poses harm to ecosystems and human health.
The authors gave their warning in the days before final talks begin in South
Korea to agree a legally binding global treaty to cut plastic pollution.
Progress towards a treaty on plastic pollution has been hindered by a row over
the need to include cuts to the $712bn plastic production industry in the
treaty. At the last talks in April, developed countries were accused of bowing
to pressure from fossil fuel and industry lobbyists to steer clear of any
reductions in production. The discussions in South Korea, which start on 25
November, mark a rare opportunity for countries to come to an agreement to
tackle the global crisis of plastic pollution.
In 2022 at least 506m tonnes of plastics were produced worldwide, but only 9%
gets recycled globally. The rest is burned, landfilled or dumped where it can
leach into the environment. Microplastics are now everywhere, from the top of
Mount Everest to the Mariana Trench, the deepest point on earth.
The new study of plastic pollution examined the mounting evidence of the
effects of plastics on the environment, health and human wellbeing. The authors
are urging delegates at the UN talks to stop viewing plastic pollution as
merely a waste problem, and instead to tackle material flows through the whole
life pathway of plastic, from raw material extraction, production and use, to
its environmental release and its fate, and the Earth system effects.
“It’s necessary to consider the full life cycle of plastics, starting from the
extraction of fossil fuel and the primary plastic polymer production” said the
article’s lead author, Patricia Villarrubia-Gómez, at Stockholm Resilience
Centre.
The research team showed that plastics pollution was changing the processes of
the entire Earth system, and affected all pressing global environmental
problems, including climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, and
the use of freshwater and land.
“Plastics are seen as those inert products that protect our favourite products,
or that make our lives easier that can be “easily cleaned-up” once they become
waste,” Villarrubia-Gómez said. “But this is far from reality. Plastics are
made out of the combination of thousands of chemicals. Many of them, such as
endocrine disruptors and forever chemicals, pose toxicity and harm to
ecosystems and human health. We should see plastics as the combination of these
chemicals with which we interact on a daily basis.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
