Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 373, Issue 6550, Pages 61-65Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.abg5433
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Funding
- Joint Programming Initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and Oceans (JPI Oceans) project WEATHER-MIC [Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (FORMAS) [942-2015-1866]
- Research Council of Norway (RCN) [257433/E40]
- German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) [03F0733A]
- BMBF project MICROFATE [03G0268TA]
- RCN project SLUDGEFFECT [302371/E10]
- Helmholtz infrastructure program FRAM (Frontiers in Arctic Marine Research)
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Plastic pollution that accumulates and is poorly reversible in the environment can have significant negative impacts such as changes to ecosystems, biological effects, and societal impacts. Therefore, a global response is needed to rapidly reduce plastic emissions through reductions in consumption of virgin plastic materials and internationally coordinated waste management strategies.
Plastic pollution accumulating in an area of the environment is considered poorly reversible if natural mineralization processes occurring there are slow and engineered remediation solutions are improbable. Should negative outcomes in these areas arise as a consequence of plastic pollution, they will be practically irreversible. Potential impacts from poorly reversible plastic pollution include changes to carbon and nutrient cycles; habitat changes within soils, sediments, and aquatic ecosystems; co-occurring biological impacts on endangered or keystone species; ecotoxicity; and related societal impacts. The rational response to the global threat posed by accumulating and poorly reversible plastic pollution is to rapidly reduce plastic emissions through reductions in consumption of virgin plastic materials, along with internationally coordinated strategies for waste management.
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