Study: Plastic emissions could double health damage by 2040

"Plastic is everywhere. Inside the human body, in the depths of the ocean and the far reaches of the Arctic. Now a new study warns that, unless the world changes course, plastic could more than double its damage to human health within the next two decades. The culprit is not plastic litter in the environment or microplastics, but the emissions released across plastic's entire life cycle from fossil fuel extraction and manufacturing to transport, recycling and disposal."

"Plastics 99% of which are manufactured from fossil fuels have become nearly unavoidable. The material is used in everything from packaging, furniture and clothing to construction materials, medical devices, and tires. Overall, the study published in The Lancet Planetary Health estimates such emissions could slash 83 million years of healthy population life between 2016 and 2040."

Plastic is omnipresent—in the human body, the deep ocean and the Arctic—and is produced overwhelmingly from fossil fuels. Emissions across plastic's lifecycle, from fossil fuel extraction through manufacturing, transport, recycling and disposal, release greenhouse gases, fine particulates and toxic chemicals. Those pollutants cause respiratory and cardiovascular disease, increase cancer risks, and contribute indirectly to health harms via climate change. Lifecycle emissions are estimated to eliminate roughly 83 million healthy life-years between 2016 and 2040. Global plastic production and consumption are projected to grow substantially, amplifying associated emissions and concentrated local harms in petrochemical regions.

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