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Microplastic pollution policy and one health: a critical perspective on California legislation as a case study
Summary
Tiny plastic particles that pollute our water and food are a growing health concern, and this paper looks at how California's laws evolved from simple bans on plastic microbeads (like those once found in face scrubs) to bigger efforts tracking plastics in drinking water and holding manufacturers responsible. The takeaway: treating microplastic pollution as connected to human, animal, and environmental health together (not just an environmental issue) helps build stronger, more effective regulations, and California's step-by-step approach offers a useful blueprint for national and global policies still being developed, like the UN Plastics Treaty. Still, the authors note major
Microplastic pollution threatens interconnected human, animal, and environmental health, disrupting ecosystem services and bioaccumulating through food webs. This critical perspective paper examines microplastic regulation through a One Health lens, using California as a case study to trace policy evolution from narrow microbead bans to comprehensive plastic governance. We categorize global regulatory responses into three tiers: product-specific microbead prohibitions, broader plastic waste controls, and systems-level governance incorporating monitoring and health protections. California illustrates this progression, beginning with the 2015 Plastic Microbeads Nuisance Prevention Law and advancing through drinking water standards, health assessments, and producer responsibility frameworks. Comparative analysis reveals that One Health framing supports broader regulatory ambition by growing stakeholder engagement and justifying expanded scope beyond environmental protection alone. Despite progress, critical gaps persist in product coverage, enforcement capacity, and integration across jurisdictions. Early microbead bans established legal precedents that now enable more comprehensive controls under emerging frameworks like the United Nations (UN) Plastics Treaty. To strengthen global microplastic governance, the recommended approach includes standardized definitions, cross-sector collaboration, and scalable source reduction. This synthesis demonstrates how subnational innovation can inform international policy while highlighting the necessity of One Health approaches to address plastic pollution’s transboundary health impacts.