Plastic pollution

The world generated 360 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2020. Half of plastic waste is landfilled and almost one-fifth is incinerated, but less than 10% properly recycled. The rest is either mismanaged or escapes (‘leaks’) into the environment.

The latest OECD report on plastic pollution states that about 20 million tonnes of plastic leaked into the environment in 2020. Over six million tonnes of this ended up in the oceans, accounting for at least 85% of total marine waste.

Most plastic waste is short-lived or single-use plastic (SUP). Over 40% comes from packaging, 12% from consumer products, and 11% from clothing and textiles. Other sources include litter and discarded fishing gear.

Ireland produces the most plastic packaging waste per person in Europe, at 73 kilograms per person in 2021 (more than twice the EU average). Of this, only 28% was recycled (versus an EU average of 39.7%).

The world faces a triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Plastic is a major threat and key contributor to all three – plastic emits greenhouse gases (GHGs) throughout its lifecycle, pollutes the environment and damages habitats and species. Some of these impacts are set out in Figure 1.

Plastic and the triple planetary crisis

Plastic comes in many sizes – large or macroplastics (such as plastic bottles) and smaller micro and nanoplastics. Microplastics are less than five millimetres in size, nanoplastics are even smaller.

Microplastics account for 12% of plastic pollution due to:

• accidental losses of primary microplastics (including plastic pellets, fibres released from washing clothes, wear of tyres and road surfaces);
• secondary microplastics (larger plastics broken down by the sun/heat, wind, and waves).

Wastewater treatment, plastic recycling plants, incineration, land-spreading of sewage sludge and other processes also release microplastics. Their small size makes them persistent, mobile, and almost impossible to capture once in the environment. Found everywhere, microplastics leach chemicals and build up in nature.

Microplastics can enter our bodies when we eat (fish, honey, salt), drink (water, beer), and breathe (tyre and road surface dust) and are absorbed through the skin. Microplastics have been found in our blood, urine, and breast milk as well as testes, placenta, and major organs. The physical shape, size, and concentration of microplastics as well as their chemical make-up may affect human health.

Thousands of toxic chemicals are linked to plastics, including those which cause cancer, reduce fertility, and damage the nervous and endocrine systems. Microplastics carry these toxins into the body. Amongst the most well-known is bisphenol A (BPA), now banned in plastic baby bottles. When heated (for sterilization or to warm the contents), plastic bottles may break down over time, allowing BPA to leach into food. This is of particular concern for feeding infants because BPA is classified as an endocrine disruptor and poses a health risk.

Animal studies show that microplastics damage cells and affect reproduction rates. Recent research was carried out on patients undergoing surgery to remove plaque build-up from the carotid arteries to help blood flow. Follow up with those patients almost three years later indicated that the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in the plaque may increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death. However, direct evidence of microplastics impact on human health is still lacking.

Plastic pollution is a massive challenge, needing more than beach cleans and biodegradable alternatives to solve it. The most important thing we can do is to stop making and using plastics we don’t need. Other ways to reduce plastic pollution are:

• Supporting the Global Plastics Treaty – over 170 nations met from 25 November to 1 December 2024 to negotiate a legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution. While progress was made, divergent views remain so negotiations will reconvene in 2025.
• Reducing chemical additives to make plastics safer.
• Improving product design and innovation – build lasting products and make them easier to recycle.
• Banning fossil fuel subsidies to discourage the production of virgin plastic.
• Helping make the market for recycled plastics profitable.

Ireland is making progress through the effective implementation of our circular economy policies and legislation. Between February and October 2024, 635 million containers were returned under the Deposit Return Scheme for bottles and cans. Further opportunities for Ireland which may interest members include:

• Increasing our plastic packaging waste recycling in line with future EU targets (we need to get from 28% to 50% by 2025 to comply).
• Enacting future legislation such as the Environment Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, which will make it easier and quicker to develop green infrastructure like plastic recycling plants; and the Nicotine Inhaling Products Bill, which will ban the sale of disposable vapes.
• Proposals under Irish policies which go further than requirements under the EU Single Use Plastic (SUP) Directive. These include bans on wet wipes, SUP coffee and cold drink cups, SUP hotel toiletries, and condiments like salt and sugar sachets.

Possible solutions to microplastic pollution

Regulating the production and emission of microplastics is needed. Under Europe’s Zero Pollution Plan, actions to reduce microplastic pollution by 30% by 2030 include:

• Preventing plastic pellet losses (tiny beads or pellets are used to make plastic with thousands of tonnes lost, wasted, or escaping every year) (see Figure 2).
• Reviewing relevant regulations on drinking water, bathing water, urban wastewater treatment and other marine laws to reduce and monitor chemicals and microplastics.
• Amending the REACH Regulation to restrict microplastics being intentionally added to products.
• Addressing fast fashion (washing releases synthetic microfibres and discarded clothes eventually break down releasing microplastics and chemicals). 

Irish policymakers could also consider providing greater support and funding for:

• Research into potential impacts of microplastics on human and environmental health;
• Developing scalable and cost-effective ways to detect, quantify, and collect microplastics;
• Ways to reduce and prevent microplastic losses (such as filters in washing machines); and
• Education and public awareness.

As global plastic production and pollution rises, the risks grow too. Ireland could become a leader in tackling waste by striving to curb the production, use and demand for plastic and increase recycling rates.