Polymers and Microplastics: Implications on Our Environment and Sustainability

Polymeric are molecular structures that are built up primarily with multiple units of monomers, which may be natural or synthetic in nature. Amidst latest challenges with increased environmental awareness and pollution levels, there is increasing trend toward the production of plastics due to their extensive applications ranging from packaging to biomedical products. Plastics are versatile, indispensable, and cost-effective, require less energy to produce than alternative materials like metal or glass, and may be produced with different properties. They can be molded into different shapes, color, and functionality to serve the customers’ expectations at affordable costs. Additives such as plasticizers, stabilizers, and colorants are added to monomers for specific properties as per requirement of manufacturing needs or guidelines. Although generally inert in nature, they may also pose health risks due to migration of few chemicals of environmental or health concerns in concentrations above than the permissible limits. Microplastics are now a great concern to environment and biodiversity. The extensive indiscriminate overuse of plastics, lack of adequate waste management practices, and casual community behavior toward their proper disposal pose a significant threat to the environment. Efforts are being taken globally for minimization of adverse implications, and concerted search are in progress for environment-friendly bio-based products with sustainability approaches.