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Incorporating plastic pollution into the global change framework
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Plastic pollution is now so widespread—from ocean water to soil to the air we breathe—that scientists say it should be studied as a major driver of global environmental change, alongside things like climate change and biodiversity loss. This matters because plastic doesn't just harm wildlife and ecosystems; it also breaks down into tiny microplastic particles that people can inhale, eat, and drink, with still-unclear effects on our health. This paper (a synthesis of existing research) argues that tackling plastic pollution needs the same coordinated, worldwide attention we give other big environmental threats, rather than being treated as a smaller, separ
Abstract
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Plasticizing the Biosphere: a Multidimensional Assessment of Synthetic Plastic Pollution and Ecosystem Health
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This review paper summarizes existing research on how tiny plastic particles affect soil, water, air, plants, microbes and animals, and how plastic production and waste connect to climate change. It concludes that plastic pollution is a complex, system-wide problem, not just a waste issue, requiring coordinated changes across production, use and disposal.
Terrestrial ecologists should stop ignoring plastic pollution in the Anthropocene time.
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This commentary argues that terrestrial ecologists have largely ignored plastic pollution as a major global change driver, despite plastics now being ubiquitous in continental ecosystems. The authors call for plastic pollution to be integrated into mainstream global change ecology research, particularly in understudied regions like South America.
A multidisciplinary perspective on the role of plastic pollution in the triple planetary crisis.
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This perspective paper argues that plastics are a central driver of all three dimensions of the planetary crisis — pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss — and must be addressed with the same urgency as carbon emissions. The authors call for a multidisciplinary approach that recognizes plastics as a systemic environmental threat rather than a siloed waste management issue.
Global Plastic Pollution Observation System to Aid Policy
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This study assessed microplastic contamination in commercially available drinking water from diverse sources including tap, filtered, and bottled water, finding that bottled water consistently contained higher particle concentrations than filtered tap water. The study calculates total annual human microplastic intake from drinking water and identifies bottled water consumption as the dominant driver of water-associated dietary exposure.
Global environmental problem of microplastics
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This paper provides an overview of microplastic pollution as a growing global environmental problem, examining how tiny plastic particles spread through ecosystems worldwide. It highlights the scale of the challenge and the need for coordinated scientific and policy responses.
Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.