Climate Change and Plastic Pollution: A Review of Their Connections

Abstract

The world faces two major environmental issues concurrently, namely climate change and plastic pollution. Though seemingly unrelated, they intricately influence each other. This review aims to present the intricate connections between climate change and plastic pollution through the review of recent literature in these genres. The review explains that global warming could increase plastic degradation through physical, chemical, and biological processes, leading to an increased abundance of microplastics. Global warming enhances the leaching of chemicals from microplastics. Higher temperatures promote desorption of chemicals sorbed on plastics by providing the adsorbates with more kinetic energy to overcome attractions with the adsorbents. Higher temperatures can also promote biofilm formation and alter the microbial community structures of biofilms. Melting sea ice and glaciers associated with warming temperatures release the microplastics trapped in the environment. Sea-level rise and extreme weather events enhance the transfer of microplastics between land, ocean, and air, thus changing their distribution and transport, while ocean acidification may influence the biofouling of microplastics and increase the vulnerability of some corals to the impacts of microplastics. Plastic pollution, however, exacerbates climate change due to the release of greenhouse gases throughout the lifecycle of plastics. Microplastics also adversely affect the growth of microalgae, hence the ocean carbon cycle. Airborne microplastics can alter the energy balance of the Earth through scattering and absorbing radiation. This review suggests a circular economic approach to minimize waste, maximize the reuse and recycling of plastics, and promote the use of plastic substitutes to address both issues.