Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Reducing plastic waste

This paper examined strategies and policy mechanisms for reducing plastic waste, reviewing effectiveness of bans, extended producer responsibility, and behavior change interventions in different national contexts.

2024 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Addressing the single-use plastic proliferation problem

This review examined the effectiveness of single-use plastic bans as a policy tool for addressing plastic pollution, evaluating evidence on their environmental impact and discussing alternative regulatory approaches. The authors found that while bans have reduced certain plastic categories, broader systemic changes to plastic production and waste management are needed.

2022 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Management strategies for single-use plastics: lessons to learn from Indian approach of minimizing microplastic waste

A review of India's experience with banning single-use plastics identified key lessons for effective policy design, including enforcement challenges and the importance of viable alternatives. The authors argue that managing single-use plastic waste is essential for reducing downstream microplastic pollution.

2023 Environmental Science Advances 24 citations
Article Tier 2

Banning Plastic

This legal article argues that outright bans on single-use plastics are the most effective policy tool for reducing plastic pollution, examining how local, state, and national bans create regulatory tipping points. While not a field study, it is directly relevant to the microplastics problem because fewer plastic products entering the environment means less feedstock for the microplastic particles that contaminate ecosystems and human food chains.

2024 Utah law review 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Future aspects of micro-plastics and their management

This review covers the main types of plastic pollution and their fragmentation into microplastics that accumulate in marine environments. The authors argue that recycling, reuse, and community-level prevention strategies are essential for reducing plastic waste reaching the ocean.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Impact of Policy Design on Plastic Waste Reduction in Africa

This paper is not about microplastics; it analyzes the design and effectiveness of single-use plastic bag policies across 39 African countries, identifying policy gaps that allow plastic waste to persist despite widespread bans.

2023 Sustainability 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic Pollution Prevention: The Need for Robust Policy Interventions to Close the Loopholes in Current Waste Management Practices

This review argues that current waste management policies have significant gaps that allow microplastic pollution to continue growing despite awareness of the problem. While cleanup technology is improving, prevention through better regulation of plastic production, use, and disposal is more practical and cost-effective. The authors call for stronger policy interventions including extended producer responsibility, bans on unnecessary single-use plastics, and standardized microplastic monitoring.

2023 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 75 citations
Review Tier 2

A review of the cost and effectiveness of solutions to address plastic pollution

This review evaluates the cost and effectiveness of solutions to plastic pollution, from recycling technologies to policy measures like bans and levies. As of 2017, only 9% of the 9 billion tons of plastic ever produced had been recycled, leaving enormous amounts to break down into microplastics that contaminate the environment. The authors conclude that no single solution is sufficient and that combining multiple approaches is needed to reduce the health and economic impacts of plastic pollution.

2022 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 236 citations
Article Tier 2

Perspectives on Plastic Waste Management: Challenges and Possible Solutions to Ensure Its Sustainable Use

This review argues that banning all plastics is not realistic and instead calls for better waste management, recycling technology, and circular economy approaches to reduce plastic pollution. The authors outline strategies including biodegradable alternatives, improved recycling infrastructure, and policy changes to minimize plastic entering the environment. Reducing plastic waste at the source is critical for lowering human exposure to microplastics in food, water, and air.

2024 Recycling 69 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics Pollution and Worldwide Policies on Plastic Use

This book examines microplastic pollution mechanisms, sources, and impacts while providing a comprehensive comparative overview of national policies developed across Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Africa to address plastic use and minimize environmental contamination. Researchers found that while policy frameworks have proliferated globally, significant variation exists in regulatory requirements, enforcement mechanisms, and penalties for non-compliance across regions.

2024
Review Tier 2

Single-use Plastic Ban and its Public Health Impacts: A Narrative Review

This review examines global policies and bans on single-use plastics, finding that they have helped reduce plastic pollution in some regions. However, enforcement and public health impacts vary widely, and more consistent international policy is needed to effectively address plastic waste.

2020 Annals of SBV 9 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing the impact of banning the single-use plastic carrier bags: a case study for Kenyan marine environment looking at macro, meso, and microplastics

Researchers assessed the impact of Kenya's single-use plastic carrier bag ban on marine plastic pollution along the country's coastline. While the ban appeared to reduce the proportion of carrier bags in beach litter, packaging plastics remained the most common type of debris found. The study suggests that banning one category of plastic products alone is insufficient to address the broader problem of marine plastic pollution without tackling other major sources.

2024 Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 11 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Pollution and Its Alternatives

This presentation reviewed the scale of plastic pollution, focusing on how plastics accumulate in oceans as non-biodegradable microplastics and nanoplastics that contaminate ecosystems and food chains. The authors outlined alternative materials and policy interventions as pathways to reduce plastic's environmental footprint.

2025 Open Schools Journal for Open Science
Article Tier 2

Plastic Pollution and Its Alternatives

This presentation reviewed the scale of plastic pollution, focusing on how plastics accumulate in oceans as non-biodegradable microplastics and nanoplastics that contaminate ecosystems and food chains. The authors outlined alternative materials and policy interventions as pathways to reduce plastic's environmental footprint.

2025 Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences (University of Skopje)
Systematic Review Tier 1

Summarizing the impacts of policies that limit the use of single-use plastic items: a systematic literature review

This systematic review summarizes research on policies that restrict single-use plastics, finding they reduce plastic consumption by an average of 62%. The findings matter for human health because less single-use plastic means fewer microplastics entering the environment, our water supply, and ultimately our bodies.

2025 Journal of integrated global STEM 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Solutions to Microplastics Pollution

This book chapter reviews current and emerging solutions to microplastic pollution, arguing that most research focuses on enrichment blocking while neglecting policy regulation, source substitution, and recycling approaches. It calls for comprehensive treatment strategies that address the full lifecycle of plastics rather than only end-of-pipe MP capture.

2025
Article Tier 2

Plastic Pollution: Causes, Effects and Preventions

This study reviewed the causes, effects, and prevention strategies for plastic pollution, noting that only 9% of the 9 billion tonnes of plastic ever produced has been recycled, with the remainder ending up in landfills, dumps, or the natural environment. Based on fieldwork and stakeholder consultations with industries, environmental groups, health practitioners, and government ministries, the paper outlined the health and ecological consequences of widespread plastic waste.

2020 International Journal of Engineering Applied Sciences and Technology 29 citations
Article Tier 2

Break Free from Plastics: Environmental Perspectives and Evidence from Rwanda

This paper reviews plastic pollution challenges in Rwanda and sub-Saharan Africa, documenting evidence of microplastic contamination in inland and coastal waters and evaluating the effectiveness of plastic bans and extended producer responsibility policies in reducing plastic waste.

2021 Environment & Ecosystem science 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Legislation to limit the environmental plastic and microplastic pollution and their influence on human exposure

This review surveys global legislation aimed at limiting plastic and microplastic pollution, including bans on single-use items, recycling mandates, and clean-up initiatives across different countries. The study also discusses how these regulations may help reduce human exposure to plastics and their associated toxic chemicals, though enforcement and scope remain uneven worldwide.

2021 Environmental Pollution 99 citations
Review Tier 2

A review of the cost and effectiveness of solutions to address plastic pollution

This review evaluates the cost and effectiveness of technologies and policies designed to reduce plastic and microplastic pollution, from recycling and waste management to in-stream cleanup devices and regulatory measures. The authors find that addressing plastic pollution requires coordinated action across the full lifecycle of plastics.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics
Article Tier 2

Single-use plastic in Brazil: policies and laws

This book volume reviews policies and laws addressing single-use plastics in Brazil, examining how different sectors of society have organized to advocate for regulatory measures. Understanding how policy instruments are developed and implemented is important for the global effort to reduce plastic waste and downstream microplastic contamination.

2023 Universidade de São Paulo. Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades eBooks 1 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A systematic literature review of voluntary behaviour change approaches in single use plastic reduction

This systematic review examines efforts to voluntarily reduce single-use plastic consumption through behavior change rather than legislation. The research finds that while government bans on plastics are effective, voluntary approaches that respect individual choice can also make a difference. Understanding what motivates people to reduce plastic use is key to tackling the microplastic pollution problem at its source.

2023 Journal of Environmental Management 28 citations
Article Tier 2

Effects and Solutions of Single use Plastic

This review summarizes the harmful environmental effects of single-use plastics at local and global scales and surveys government and scientific solutions being implemented worldwide, arguing that plastic pollution is a global challenge requiring coordinated international action and new material substitutes.

2022 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
Article Tier 2

Solutions and Integrated Strategies for the Control and Mitigation of Plastic and Microplastic Pollution

This review evaluates existing strategies for controlling plastic and microplastic pollution and proposes integrated solutions spanning prevention, collection, and treatment. Researchers found that current cleanup efforts cannot keep pace with the volume of plastic entering the environment, making source reduction essential. The study advocates for a combination of policy changes, improved waste management, innovative materials, and public education to address the crisis.

2019 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 513 citations