Ending plastic pollution is a human and planetary health imperative

When you woke up this morning, you did not breakfast on a plate of plastics, and rightly so. Your body is likely to have plastic in it anyway – microplastics, which have been found in the arteries, lungs, brains, placenta and breast milk of people across the world.

We still do not know exactly what these microplastics do to our bodies, although new research is emerging all the time. We do know that we did not choose to ingest them. We do know that they do not belong there. And we do know that only ending plastic pollution will stop such plastics from accumulating inside of us.

Plastics bring many benefits to humanity – in healthcare, in clean energy technology and much more. Plastic is a useful, durable material that has a role to play in societies and economies, including as we transition to a greener, safer world.

The problem is that the way we produce, use and discard many plastics – particularly single-use and short-lived products used for convenience, not necessity – has swamped the world in pollution.

An estimated 11 million tonnes of plastics leak into aquatic ecosystems each year, while around 13 million tonnes of plastics accumulate in the soil annually. This pollution gets everywhere – from the Mariana Trench, the deepest ocean point, to Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak – and breaks down into ever smaller particles, which sneak into our bodies through food, water and even air.

The harm caused by plastic pollution on species, ecosystems and economies is well documented. The costs of plastic pollution could rise as high as a cumulative $281-trillion between 2016 and 2040.

We are talking about lost income from tourism, beaches that need to be cleaned up, contaminated rivers, communities flooding as plastic waste clogs drains, fishing communities that are increasingly catching little more than plastic bottles and bags, and more.

Ending plastic pollution is clearly a human health, planetary health, economic health and business health imperative. This is why, on World Environment Day, the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) and the host nation, the Republic of Korea, are mobilising communities across the globe to #BeatPlasticPollution.

Make no mistake: the world is moving to end plastic pollution. More than 90 countries have put in place some form of restriction on single-use plastic bags.

Circular economy