Abstract
The mismanagement of plastic materials has grown to become a mounting global pollution concern that is closely implicated in unsustainable production and consumption paradigms. The ecological, social, and economic impacts of plastic waste mismanagement are currently transboundary in nature and have necessitated numerous methods of government intervention in order to address and mitigate the globalized and multifaceted dilemmas posed by high rates and volumes of plastic waste generation. This review examines the current landscape of a plastics economy which has operated with a linear momentum, employing large quantities of primary resources and disincentivizing the functioning of a robust recycling market for collecting plastic waste and reintegrating it into the consumer market. This contextualizes an increasing plastic pollution crisis that has required global efforts to address and mitigate the ecological risks and socio-economic challenges of mismanaged plastic waste. A timeline of government interventions regarding plastic pollution is described, including numerous international, regional, and local actions to combat plastic waste, and this is followed by an examination of the relevance of the extended producer responsibility principle to improve plastic waste management and obligate industry to assume responsibility in waste collection and recycling.
Highlights
The mismanagement of plastic materials has grown to become a mounting global pollution concern that is closely implicated in unsustainable production and consumption paradigms
The material complexity of the packaging waste stream restricts the efficient functioning of secondary recycling markets, and the pace and scale of primary plastics production has hampered the capacity of recycling industries to produce substantial feedstock at a quality and scale necessary to compete with virgin plastics, inhibiting a thriving secondary market for plastic packaging [1,5,6]
The risks of plastic mismanagement are increasingly recognized as a threat to wildlife on land and at sea, to global environmental health, and to human livelihoods
Summary
The global value chain for plastics spans numerous industries and complexifies the total life cycle of plastics production, use, and disposal. According to the International Energy Agency, the production of virgin plastics has increased over tenfold globally since 1970 and has exceeded the growth of any other group of bulk materials produced by the chemical sector, including steel, cement, aluminum, and ammonia [10]. Investments in new refineries and ethane-cracking facilities are on the rise across the United States, to increase its domestic capacity to produce chemical feedstock for the production of plastic materials [12,13]. Based on global estimates from Geyer [1], around 36% of plastic production is employed for packaging, accounting for 158 million metric tonnes (Mt) of the total plastic resin produced in 2017. The high rates of virgin plastic production have outpaced development of adequate recycling infrastructure and technologies, which are out of step with increasing demands for plastic packaging
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