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Waste management won’t solve the plastics problem — we need to cut consumption

Machine learning has been used to turn a survey of local waste-management practices into a global inventory of plastic emissions. The data show that tackling plastic pollution will require reduced production and consumption.
  1. Matthew MacLeod

    1. Matthew MacLeod is in the Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, SE-11418 Stockholm, Sweden.

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In a paper in Nature, Cottom et al.1 present an inventory of plastics that pollute the environment, derived from measurements taken at a local scale around the world. The inventory could support policy actions to reduce emissions of plastic, and provides a global baseline for researchers who are modelling the effects of plastic pollution under alternative policy scenarios. It also highlights the fact that strategies for dealing with large pieces of plastic litter can exacerbate emissions of other pollutants, including microplastics, hazardous air pollutants and greenhouse gases.

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Nature 633, 37-38 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02580-6

References

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Competing Interests

M.M. has funding for a research project (LRI ECO56) from CEFIC, the European Chemical Industry Council. It is conceivable that publication of this article could lead to financial gains or losses by CEFIC member companies.

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