New research links plastic production to plastic pollution

According to the study, every 1% increase in consumer goods companies’ plastic production is associated with a 1% increase in plastic pollution in the environment. It marks the first robust quantification of the global relationship between plastic production and pollution.

The study also found that more than half of global branded plastic pollution can be tracked to just 56 companies.

"This shows very, very, very well the need for transparency and traceability. We need to know who is producing what, so they can take responsibility, right?" said Centre researcher and co-author Patricia Villarrubia- Gómez to the Guardian.

The research was led by scientists from a dozen different universities, including the Stockholm Resilience Centre. It used citizen science initiatives in which volunteers conduct waste clean-ups and document the brands found on the pollution collected. Over five years, more than 200,000 volunteers submitted data through Break Free From Plastic or 5 Gyres, two NGOs.

The strong relationship between consumer goods companies’ plastic production and pollution, across geographies and widely varying waste management systems, suggests that reducing plastic production in the fast-moving consumer goods sector is a viable solution to curb global plastic pollution. As world leaders negotiate a Global Plastics Treaty at INC-4 this month in Ottawa, Canada, this research serves as a tool to support a high-ambition legally binding treaty that includes provisions on corporate accountability, prioritizing plastic production reduction measures, and promoting reuse and refill systems.