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The Critical Importance of Adopting Whole-of-Life Strategies for Polymers and Plastics
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This review argues that plastics must be managed across their entire life cycle—from design to disposal—to address the growing crisis of microplastic pollution. The authors call for replacing the current 'disposable' mindset with strategies that prioritize durability, recyclability, and eventually biodegradability.
Plastics have been revolutionary in numerous sectors, and many of the positive attributes of modern life can be attributed to their use. However, plastics are often treated only as disposable commodities, which has led to the ever-increasing accumulation of plastic and plastic by-products in the environment as waste, and an unacceptable growth of microplastic and nanoplastic pollution. The catchphrase “plastics are everywhere”, perhaps once seen as extolling the virtues of plastics, is now seen by most as a potential or actual threat. Scientists are confronting this environmental crisis, both by developing recycling methods to deal with the legacy of plastic waste, and by highlighting the need to develop and implement effective whole-of-life strategies in the future use of plastic materials. The importance and topicality of this subject are evidenced by the dramatic increase in the use of terms such as “whole of life”, “life-cycle assessment”, “circular economy” and “sustainable polymers” in the scientific and broader literature. Effective solutions, however, are still to be forthcoming. In this review, we assess the potential for implementing whole-of-life strategies for plastics to achieve our vision of a circular economy. In this context, we consider the ways in which given plastics might be recycled into the same plastic for potential use in the same application, with minimal material loss, the lowest energy cost, and the least potential for polluting the environment.
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This review examines strategies for managing microplastic waste through a circular economy and life cycle assessment (LCA) lens, arguing that current recycling practices and waste disposal methods are inadequate given the sheer volume of plastics entering ecosystems. The authors propose a conceptual framework integrating LCA principles into microplastic management to better quantify ecological risks and guide more sustainable plastic use policies.
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This review of the plastic waste problem summarized evidence that microplastics are now found everywhere—from Arctic ice to deep ocean trenches to human tissues—and argued that existing waste management approaches are fundamentally inadequate. The author calls for a comprehensive redesign of the plastic life cycle, from materials innovation through to end-of-life recovery.
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This review examines the full environmental impact of plastics from production through disposal, noting that life cycle assessments often produce unexpected results when comparing bio-based and petroleum-based plastics. A major gap exists because microplastic pollution is not yet factored into these environmental assessments, despite growing evidence of its ecological harm.
Plastic Pollution & Solution
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This review examines plastic waste management strategies across the plastic lifecycle, noting that landfilling remains the dominant approach despite its environmental and health drawbacks. It concludes that recycling and energy recovery offer better outcomes than landfilling, which is relevant to microplastics because improper disposal accelerates the fragmentation of plastics into smaller particles that enter ecosystems.
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