Summary of the advantages and problems associated with plastics 

The particular and versatile characteristics of plastic make its use very advantageous and, at the same time, have contributed to the fact that it has become a major global problem. Some of these characteristics are listed below.

Plastic is created from natural materials such as petroleum and coal, which has contributed to the extractive industry multi-million-dollar profits. Unfortunately, these materials are "non-renewable"This means that they are finite materials and, therefore, can be used up.²

Plastic can be molded into many different shapes, which has allowed its use in medicine, construction, entertainment, clothing, food packaging and preservation, among many other uses. Unfortunately, this has led to an exponential growth in its production.² and their presence and abundance is high in practically the entire planet Earth.

Another characteristic of plastic is that it is very durable, which can be very useful in the construction industry and in the creation of different items that can be used for many years. At the same time, the chemical characteristics of plastic make it practically impossible for it to be converted into another material; therefore, even if it degrades (turns into smaller particles), plastic is still plastic.¹ Little is known about the degradation of different types of plastics under different climatic and environmental conditions. A 2020 study showed that plastic can take from 10 to 10,000 years to degrade depending on its chemical composition and the environment in which it is found (landfill, soil, marine, biological or under the sun).²

Plastic and global warming

The extraction of the raw material that will later be converted into plastic, as well as the production, transport and disposal of the plastic lead to the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂)³. This implies that the plastics industry contributes to global warming. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with all stages of the plastics "life cycle" are estimated to reach 1.34 gigatons per year by 2030 and 2.8 gigatons per year by 2050.^4,5

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with plastics is essential to reverse the effects of global warming. Among the most notable effects of global warming are more intense and frequent hurricanes, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, coastal erosion, more frequent rainfall in some areas and droughts in others.

Plastic and the crisis in solid waste management

The human being has produced about nine billion (9,000,000,000,000) tons of plastic.⁶ Global plastic production has increased from 2 million tons in the 1950s to 367 million tons in 2020.³

It is estimated that of all the plastic ever produced on planet Earth, only 9% has been recycled.⁶ Typically, type 1 (PET) and 2 (HDPE) plastics can be recycled without much difficulty, with the exception of bags (Table 1). Other types of plastics can be recycled by individual companies or organizations that usually do not recycle on a large scale or in all locations. In addition, there is very little public awareness of how to properly dispose of recyclable plastics. This contributes to plastics that cannot be recycled being thrown into the recycling bin and some plastics that have not been washed or dried contaminate others. All of this can lead to what we think we are recycling eventually being discarded and ending up in a landfill.

From a 75 to 79% of the plastic produced ends up being discarded.The 40% of the plastic produced is discarded after only a few uses or, even worse, after a single use.⁶ An estimated 12% of the plastic produced has been incinerated, while 79% has ended up in landfills, on the streets or in nature.⁷ In addition, an estimated 5 to 13 million metric tons of improperly handled plastic enter the oceans annually, which is equivalent to approximately one dump truck full of plastic entering the ocean every minute.⁷ Many of us have seen the ads and reports about how plastic in the oceans affects animals such as turtles, fish, birds, conchs (hermit crabs) and many more.

Figure 1. Representation of the fragmentation of plastics and the presence of microplastics in the environment.

Microplastics

It has recently been found that plastic can also affect humans directly when it is fragmented into microscopic sizes. Much of the discarded plastics have been fragmented into microscopic particles known as microplastics that have been found in rivers, oceans, soil, air, plants, animals and in us humans (Figure 1).⁴ A WWF-funded study found that humans ingest the equivalent of one plastic credit card each week and the equivalent of a full plate each year.⁸ Some of the microplastics we ingest are present in water bottles and other beverages, salt and the marine animals we eat. Other plastics that are present in our bodies come from clothing, cosmetics and medical-related items.⁹

It has been found that plastic ingested, inhaled and absorbed (through our skin) can cause digestive, respiratory, cardiovascular and even cancer problems.⁹ Additionally, microplastics have been found in our blood and even in placentas.^10,11 There is still much research to be done on the effects of microplastics on our bodies.

References: 

1. Bilbao Villena A. Unhooking from plastic. Problems of a ubiquitous material: environmentalists in action. Accessed February 9, 2023. http://www.ecologistasenaccion.org
2. Chamas A, Moon H, Zheng J, et al. Degradation Rates of Plastics in the Environment. ACS Sustain Chem Eng. 2020;8(9):3494-3511. doi:10.1021/ACSSUSCHEMENG.9B06635/ASSET/IMAGES/LARGE/SC9B06635_0009.JPEG
3. Plastics - the Facts 2021 - Plastics Europe. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://plasticseurope.org/knowledge-hub/plastics-the-facts-2021/
4. Shen M, Huang W, Chen M, Song B, Zeng G, Zhang Y. (Micro)plastic crisis: Un-ignorable contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. J Clean Prod. 2020;254:120138. doi:10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2020.120138
5. Hamilton LA, Feit S. Plastic and Climate: The Hidden Costs of a Plastic Planet - Center for International Environmental Law.; 2019. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://www.ciel.org/plasticandclimate/.
6. Geyer R, Jambeck JR, Law KL. Production, use, and the fate of all plastics ever made. Sci Adv. 2017;3(7). doi:10.1126/SCIADV.1700782/SUPPL_FILE/1700782_SM.PDF
7. Brooks A, Jambeck J, Mozo-Reyes E. Plastic Waste Management and Leakage in Latin America and the Caribbean.; 2020. doi:10.18235/0002873.
8. Dalberg Advisors. No Plastic in Nature: Assessing Plastic Ingestion from Nature to People.; 2019. Accessed February 13, 2023. https://www.dropbox.com/s/nxvyl3v5s9d0a1v/PLASTIC%20INGESTION%20Web%20spreads.pdf?dl=0
9. Prata JC, da Costa JP, Lopes I, Duarte AC, Rocha-Santos T. Environmental exposure to microplastics: An overview on possible human health effects. Science of The Total Environment. 2020;702:134455. doi:10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.134455
10. Leslie HA, van Velzen MJM, Brandsma SH, Vethaak AD, Garcia-Vallejo JJ, Lamoree MH. Discovery and quantification of plastic particle pollution in human blood. Environ Int. 2022;163:107199. doi:10.1016/J.ENVINT.2022.107199
11. Ragusa A, Svelato A, Santacroce C, et al. Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta. Environ Int. 2021;146:106274. doi:10.1016/J.ENVINT.2020.106274

Author: María E. Ocasio Torres, Ph.D.
Bachelor's Degree in Coastal Marine Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
D. in Biology from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras