Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Study on China’s Plastic Consumption Trend and Sustainable Development Countermeasures

Despite its title referencing plastic consumption, this paper focuses on forecasting China's future plastic demand and proposing policy frameworks for the plastics industry — not on microplastic pollution or health effects. It examines production trends, packaging, construction, and automotive sectors, and is a policy and economics paper rather than a microplastics science paper.

2025 Sustainability 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The Legal dilemmas and pathways for managing plastic waste pollution in China: An assessment of current regulations and a vision for future governance frameworks

This paper systematically analyses the current state of plastic waste legal regulation in China and proposes a framework for future governance, examining how the rapid growth of the e-commerce, express delivery, and food delivery industries has sharply increased plastic product consumption. The authors assess existing regulatory gaps and outline pathways toward more effective and comprehensive plastic waste management law.

2024 Journal of Infrastructure Policy and Development
Article Tier 2

Plastic Industry Development and Natural Environment Protection

This paper from China reviews how rising plastic production and improper disposal are increasing microplastic contamination in the environment, threatening both ecological and human health. It calls for improved pollution control strategies and stronger regulatory oversight of the plastic industry.

2020 Nature Environmental Protection 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Exploring Plastic-Management Policy in China: Status, Challenges and Policy Insights

Researchers reviewed China's plastic management policies and found that despite being the world's largest plastic producer, existing regulations remain insufficient, recommending strengthened extended producer responsibility and circular economy approaches to control plastic pollution.

2023 Sustainability 59 citations
Article Tier 2

The Plastic Intensity of Industries in the USA: The Devil Wears Plastic

Researchers used US input-output data to calculate the plastic intensity of 415 non-plastic industries across 13 polymer types, finding that clothing and fabric manufacturing are the most plastic-intensive sectors, a pattern consistent with the prevalence of textile-derived microplastics in waterways and suggesting that consumer-facing plastic bag policies fail to address the most significant pollution pathways.

2022 Environmental Modeling & Assessment 17 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Progressing Towards Environmental Health Targets in China: A Systematic Review of Achievements in Air and Water Pollution under the “Ecological Civilization and the Beautiful China” Dream

This systematic review summarizes China's progress in reducing air and water pollution under its environmental health initiatives. The findings are relevant to microplastic concerns because China is a major producer and consumer of plastics, and the review highlights how industrial pollution, including plastic waste, creates widespread environmental contamination with direct consequences for public health.

2020 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Production waste of the textile and clothing industry in sustaindevelopment context

Researchers identified and categorized production waste streams from the textile and clothing industry, assessed their environmental impacts in a sustainable development context, and proposed waste minimization strategies in response to increasing EU regulatory pressure.

2023 Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology Organization and Management Series 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Sustainable Plasticulture in Chinese Agriculture: a Review of Challenges and Routes to Achieving Long-term Food and Ecosecurity

This review examines the challenges of plasticulture in Chinese agriculture, where macro-, micro-, and nanoplastic pollution from mulch films threatens long-term soil health and crop production. The authors propose holistic solutions targeting plastic production, use, and waste management to protect food security.

2023 Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Research and management of plastic pollution in coastal environments of China

This review summarizes research on plastic pollution in China's coastal environments, noting that as the world's largest producer of plastic waste, China faces significant environmental challenges. Researchers found that microplastics have been detected in surface waters, sediments, and the water column along Chinese coasts from both land-based and sea-based sources. The study highlights that while national-level policies address plastic waste broadly, there is virtually no legislation specifically targeting microplastic pollution.

2019 Environmental Pollution 146 citations
Article Tier 2

Current research and perspective of microplastics (MPs) in soils (dusts), rivers (lakes), and marine environments in China

This review synthesized a decade of Chinese research on microplastic concentrations in soils, rivers, lakes, and marine environments, finding that coastal and urban areas are most contaminated and that freshwater environments are understudied compared to marine ones. China, as the world's largest plastic producer, faces significant microplastic pollution challenges requiring systematic monitoring across all environmental compartments.

2020 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 53 citations
Article Tier 2

Reconciling industrialization and environmental protection for sustainable development in Bangladesh: The textile and apparel industry case

This paper analyzed the Bangladesh textile and apparel industry's path toward reconciling rapid industrialization with environmental protection, identifying policy measures needed to reduce pollution while sustaining economic growth.

2023 European Journal of Sustainable Development Research 5 citations
Article Tier 2

China’s regulatory respond to plastic pollution: Trends and trajectories

Analysis of 231 plastic-related Chinese government policies from 2000 to 2021 revealed increasing regulatory attention to plastic pollution with a shift from general waste management toward specific single-use plastic restrictions after 2020. The findings highlight China moving toward more targeted plastic governance despite its large contribution to global ocean plastic.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 44 citations
Article Tier 2

The contamination of microplastics in China's aquatic environment: Occurrence, detection and implications for ecological risk

This review summarized microplastic contamination across marine environments, freshwater systems, and wastewater treatment plants in China, one of the world's top plastic-producing countries. The study highlights that research on how microplastics transfer between connected water environments remains lacking, and the microscale toxicity of microplastics is still poorly understood.

2021 Environmental Pollution 91 citations
Article Tier 2

The Evolutionary Trend and Impact of Global Plastic Waste Trade Network

Analysis of the global plastic waste trade network from 1988 to 2017 found that recent national import bans have reshaped trade flows, with waste being redirected from China to other developing nations rather than reducing overall plastic waste generation.

2021 Sustainability 71 citations
Article Tier 2

The Research on the Influence of Population Agglomeration on Environmental Pollution under the Background of Industrial Upgrading

This study examines how population concentration in cities affects environmental pollution levels, particularly in the context of industrial upgrading in China. Population density and industrial activity are major drivers of plastic waste generation, which is closely linked to microplastic contamination of urban waterways.

2023
Article Tier 2

Plastic Waste and a Circular Economy in China

This review examines China's plastic waste management challenges and the country's progress toward implementing circular economy principles for plastic recovery and recycling. As one of the world's largest plastic producers and consumers, China's plastic waste policies have major global implications for the amount of plastic that ultimately becomes microplastics.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

The Plastic Age: River Pollution in China from Crop Production and Urbanization

Researchers developed an integrated model estimating that 716 kilotons of plastics entered Chinese rivers annually from crop production mulching, sewage systems, and mismanaged solid waste, with agricultural plastic films being a major but often overlooked source.

2023 Environmental Science & Technology 37 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics and source-pathway of microplastics in freshwater system of China: A review

This national-scale review examines microplastic characteristics and source-pathway dynamics in Chinese freshwater systems including rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, synthesizing data showing that urban runoff, textile washing, and wastewater discharge are dominant sources. The authors identify key knowledge gaps in understanding microplastic transport from inland waters to the ocean in the world's largest plastic-producing country.

2022 Chemosphere 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic emission and socioeconomic data of fashion industry in Chinese cities from 2001 to 2020

This dataset tracks microplastic emissions from China's fashion industry across cities from 2001 to 2020, enabling analysis of pollution trends alongside textile manufacturing and socioeconomic data.

2023 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Unveiling China’s Primary Microplastic Emissions: Supply Chain Dynamics from Multiple Perspectives

Using an economic input-output model that traces supply chains across Chinese provinces, this study estimated primary microplastic emissions from production, consumption, and income perspectives, finding that eastern coastal provinces dominate emissions but that the responsible sector shifts depending on which accounting method is used. Transportation and textiles were the top-emitting sectors under all approaches. This kind of supply-chain analysis is essential for designing effective policy — assigning pollution responsibility to the right actors rather than just the regions where plastic is made.

2026 Journal of Environmental Engineering
Article Tier 2

Global Plastic Production, Environmental Impacts, and Sustainable Remediation Strategies: A Comprehensive Review

This comprehensive review traces global plastic production from 1950 to 2025, documenting the exponential growth in output and associated waste, and evaluating remediation strategies including mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, biodegradation, and emerging alternatives.

2025 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Unsustainable Horizons

This article examined unsustainable development trajectories and their environmental consequences, discussing how current production and consumption patterns generate plastic pollution as part of broader ecological overshoot.

2024
Article Tier 2

An Overview of Management Status and Recycling Strategies for Plastic Packaging Waste in China

Not relevant to microplastics — this paper reviews Chinese policy and recycling technology for plastic packaging waste, focusing on regulatory frameworks, carbon emissions, and recycling infrastructure rather than microplastic contamination or health risks.

2023 Recycling 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Looking for a Chinese solution to global problems: The situation and countermeasures of marine plastic waste and microplastics pollution governance system in China

This study analyzed China's marine plastic waste and microplastic pollution governance system, examining policy frameworks across blue economy development, plastics industry reform, and public health awareness, while proposing countermeasures to curb marine pollution intensification.

2021 Chinese Journal of Population Resources and Environment 45 citations