Our plastic age

By Richard C. Thompson, S. Swan, C. Moore, F. V. vom Saal. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2009

1,144 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Within the last few decades, plastics have revolutionized our daily lives. Globally we use in excess of 260 million tonnes of plastic per annum, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of world oil production. In this Theme Issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, we describe current and future trends in usage, together with the many benefits that plastics bring to society. At the same time, we examine the environmental consequences resulting from the accumulation of waste plastic, the effects of plastic debris on wildlife and concerns for human health that arise from the production, usage and disposal of plastics. Finally, we consider some possible solutions to these problems together with the research and policy priorities necessary for their implementation.

Subfields: Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Pollution

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5be5e55c399f816e21a965c88b572a9cba438463

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

1. Ren Wei
2. M. Cole
3. T. Galloway
4. S. Anbumani
5. C. Halsband
6. P. Kakkar
7. P. Lindeque
8. S. Park

In Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

1. M. Gregory
2. P. Lindeque
3. Ren Wei
4. W. Zimmermann
5. A. Lehmann
6. S. Anbumani
7. P. Kakkar
8. M. Cole

In Pollution

1. M. Gregory
2. P. Lindeque
3. Ren Wei
4. W. Zimmermann
5. S. Anbumani
6. P. Kakkar
7. A. Lehmann
8. T. Galloway

Citations in the corpus

• Microbial enzymes for the recycling of recalcitrant petroleum‐based plastics: how far are we? (2017, background): “Physiochemical properties of synthetic plastics as obstacles for their enzymatic degradation Synthetic plastics show a high resistance to many physical, chemical and biological factors (Andrady and Neal, 2009; Thompson et al., 2009).”
• Poly (ethylene terephthalate) recycling for high value added textiles (2014, positive): “Processed PET has been used in a wide range of applications because of its low cost (Thompson et al. 2009), remarkable tensile strength, chemical resistance, clarity, and reasonable thermal stability (Caldicott 1999).”
• Biodegradable and compostable alternatives to conventional plastics (2009, positive): “However, as discussed, only some of those plastics will also biodegrade adequately under ambient, mesophilic regimes typical of UK home composters, and this distinction needs to be communicated effectively to the wider public (see Thompson et al. 2009b).”
• Critical review of global plastics stock and flow data (2021, background): “Such a substantial amount of long-lived plastics waste causes a variety of critical environmental, ecological, and health issues (Khoo et al., 2010; Law et al., 2010; Peng et al., 2018; Perkins, 2015; Thompson et al., 2009a).”
• Microplastic fiber and drought effects on plants and soil are only slightly modified by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (2020, background): “The research focus has recently shifted to include terrestrial ecosystems and the soil, but research in marine environments is much more advanced, since it started roughly a decade earlier (Thompson et al., 2009).”