The world is experiencing a “plastics crisis” that poses grave dangers to human health from infancy to old age, costing at least $1.5 trillion annually in health-related damages, according to a major new expert review.
Published in The Lancet medical journal, the study warns that plastics represent a “grave, growing and under-recognised danger” to both human and planetary health. The crisis stems from explosive growth in plastic production, which has increased 200-fold since 1950 and is projected to nearly triple again to over one billion tonnes yearly by 2060.
Eight billion tonnes of plastic now pollute the entire planet, from Mount Everest to the deepest ocean trenches, with less than 10% being recycled. The surge is driven primarily by single-use plastics like bottles and food containers.
Lead author Professor Philip Landrigan of Boston College emphasized that health impacts “fall most heavily on vulnerable populations, especially infants and children.” The review found exposure linked to miscarriage, premature birth, birth defects, impaired lung growth, childhood cancer, and fertility problems.
More than 16,000 chemicals are used in plastics, many linked to health problems throughout human life. Micro and nano-plastics have been detected in blood, brains, breast milk, and bone marrow after entering bodies through water, food, and air.
The findings come as countries negotiate a global plastics treaty, with disputes between nations supporting production caps and oil-producing states opposing such measures.