Suchergebnisse

Plastics have become a severe transboundary threat to natural ecosystems and human health, with studies predicting a twofold increase in the number of plastic debris (including micro and nano-sized plastics) by 2030. However, such predictions will likely be aggravated by the excessive use and consumption of single-use plastics (including personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves) due to COVID-19 pandemic. This review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview on the effects of COVID-19 on macroplastic pollution and its potential implications on the environment and human health considering short- and long-term scenarios; addressing the main challenges and discussing potential strategies to overcome them. It emphasises that future measures, involved in an emergent health crisis or not, should reflect a balance between public health and environmental safety as they are both undoubtedly connected. Although the use and consumption of plastics significantly improved our quality of life, it is crucial to shift towards sustainable alternatives, such as bio-based plastics. Plastics should remain in the top of the political agenda in Europe and across the world, not only to minimise plastic leakage and pollution, but to promote sustainable growth and to stimulate both green and blue- economies. Discussions on this topic, particularly considering the excessive use of plastic, should start soon with the involvement of the scientific community, plastic producers and politicians in order to be prepared for the near future. ; Thanks are due to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020), with the financial support from FCT/MCTES through national funds; and to the research projects comPET (PTDC/CTA-AMB/30361/2017) and MARSENSE (PTDC/BTA-GES/28770/2017) funded by FEDER, through COMPETE 2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI), and by national funds (OE), through FCT/MCTES. J.C.P. and A.L.P.S. were funded by Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) through scholarship PD/BD/135581/2018 and PD/BPD/114870/2016 + CEECIND/01366/2018, respectively; under POCH funds, co-financed by the European Social Fund and Portuguese National Funds from MEC. T.R.W. was funded by a NSERC Discovery Grant RGPIN-2018-04119. ; Peer reviewed

Plastics have been on top of the political agenda in Europe and across the world to reduce plastic leakage and pollution. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted plastic reduction policies at the regional and national levels and induced significant changes in plastic waste management with potential for negative impacts in the environment and human health. This paper provides an overview of plastic policies and discusses the readjustments of these policies during the COVID-19 pandemic along with their potential environmental implications. The sudden increase in plastic waste and composition due to the COVID-19 pandemic underlines the crucial need to reinforce plastic reduction policies (and to implement them into action without delays), to scale up in innovation for sustainable and green plastics solutions, and to develop dynamic and responsive waste management systems immediately. Policy recommendations and future research directions are discussed. ; Thanks are due to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020+UIDB/50017/2020), with the financial support from FCT/MCTES through national funds; and to the research project comPET (PTDC/CTA-AMB/30361/2017) funded by FEDER, through COMPETE 2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI), and by national funds (OE), through FCT/MCTES, and also to the Integrated Program of SR&T D' Smart Valorisation of Endogenous Marine Biological Resources Under a Changing Climate' (reference Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000018), co-funded by Centro (2020) program, Portugal 2020, European Union, through the European Regional Development Fund. J.C.P. and A.L.P.S. were funded by Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) through scholarship PD/BD/135581/2018 and PD/BPD/114870/2016 + CEECIND/01366/2018, respectively; under POCH funds, co-financed by the European Social Fund and Portuguese National Funds from MEC. T.R.W. was funded by a NSERC Discovery Grant RGPIN-2018-04119, and D.C. was funded by a research contract within the project comPET (nr. Contract: 5662). ; Peer reviewed