In this overview, we examine some of the ways in which archaeologists have increasingly turned their attention to the contemporary world, focusing not on ancient artefacts but on the material legacies that we ourselves are creating and what they tell us about ourselves, including the impact we are having on planetary and human health. One aspect of this “contemporary archaeology” is the study of modern waste, an area of research often referred to as “garbology.” Originating in the later 1960s, this study of modern waste is typically focused on the plastics that characterise what is now commonly referred to as the Plastic Age, a supposedly more familiar past aligning with both cultural experience and memory. The paper emphasises archaeology’s strong interdisciplinary traditions, particularly in its use of scientific methods, which make it easier for archaeologists to work within interdisciplinary teams and with other stakeholders and with policymakers, these being particularly relevant in studies that focus on the contemporary world. The paper concludes by describing how archaeologists are using these perspectives on the contemporary world to cast their eyes forward to the future.

In recent decades, the proliferation of single-use plastic products has significantly contributed to a surge in plastic pollution on a global scale. Researchers have extensively investigated the impacts of plastic pollution across various regions, yet a comprehensive holistic and location-based understanding of these impacts in the West African context is lacking. This study addresses this gap through a systemic assessment of the impacts of plastic pollution, in West Africa, particularly Ghana. Employing a qualitative system dynamics causal modelling approach, this study establishes linkages between pollution effects at the macro level, constructing a hierarchical outline of both high- and low-level impacts. The significance of this research lies in the application of pertinent systems thinking techniques to comprehend the broader impacts of plastic pollution. The outcomes of this study will inform the development of effective policies aimed at preventing or mitigating plastic pollution in Ghana, and potentially the wider West African context.

Although studies suggest that wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are the main pathway for plastics into receiving waters, studies on the origin and fate of plastics entering WWTPs are imprecise and largely unexplored. The analysis of plastics in samples from WWTPs is also a relatively young and growing field compared with the marine environment. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that plastics are not uniformly distributed in WWTPs due to environmental factors and the inherent properties of plastics. Accordingly, this review article attempts to describe the current state of knowledge on plastic pollution in WWTPs and identify future research areas. In particular, this study describes the sources of plastics entering WWTPs and the analytical techniques used for the occurrence and properties of plastics in WWTPs. It also defines the role of these plastics as a possible source of microplastics and discusses the problems they can cause in WWTPs. The factors that can influence the variations in the number of plastics are defined. Furthermore, the policy needs for managing plastic pollution as a contribution to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are assessed.

Plastic production has greatly increased in the past decades and has become central to modern human life. Realization is dawning that plastics break down into smaller pieces resulting in micro- or nanoplastics (MNP) that can enter humans directly via the environment. Indeed, MNP have been detected in every part of the human body, including the placenta, which is concerning for development. Early developmental stages are crucial for proper growth and genome programming. Environmental disruptors in MNP can have detrimental effects during this critical window as well and can increase the risk of developing disease and dysfunction. In addition, MNP may impact situations in which developmental pathways are reactivated after birth such as during organ repair. Currently, there is no overview of how MNP can impair (human) development and repair. Therefore, we provide an extensive overview of available evidence on MNP impacting developmental and regenerative processes in various organs in humans and rodent models. In addition, we have included the impact of some additives that can leach from these MNP. We conclude that MNP and their additives can have modulating effects on developing and regenerating organs.

While calls for Indigenous participation in plastics pollution governance are increasingly common, exactly what participation means remains unclear. This review investigates how English-language peer-reviewed and gray literature describe Indigenous participation and its barriers and analyzes the dominant terms, models, enactments, and theories of Indigenous participation in plastics pollution work. We find that different actors – Indigenous people and organizations, non-Indigenous authors, mixed collaborations, and settler governments and NGOs – are talking about participation in acutely different ways. Non-Indigenous actors tend to focus on the inclusion of Indigenous people, either as data, knowledge, or a presence in existing frameworks. Mixed Indigenous and non-Indigenous author groups focus on partnership and collaboration, though with significant diversity in terms of what modes of decision-making, rights, and leadership these collaborations entail. Indigenous authors and organization advocate for participation premised on Indigenous rights, sovereignty, creation, and leadership. We end by characterizing Indigenous Environmental Justice (IEJ) in the literature. IEJ provides a notably unique way of understanding and intervening in plastics pollution. The text is designed so researchers and organizers can be more specific, deliberate, and just in the way Indigenous peoples participate in plastic pollution research, initiatives, and governance.

Increasingly plastic pollution is being recognized as a critical environmental and human health threat of unprecedented scale and complexity. While trends in plastic production and consumption are still on the rise, the negative effects of uncollected, mismanaged, dumped or incinerated plastic waste are causing profound impacts on the environment, oceans, climate and food chains compromising the quality of life for humans and other living beings, with expected cumulative negative effects for the near future. Particularly populations in the Global South, where new markets for plastic consumer goods have rapidly emerged over the past 30 years, while waste management, in general, has remained precarious, underfunded or inexistent, directly experience the burdens of plastic pollution. The emerging environmental problems are particularly visible in these regions and so are also possible solutions and alternatives. Approximately 20 million informal workers already recover plastic waste from the garbage in the Global South, usually working under precarious, risky and poorly paid conditions. The literature claims that they represent a workforce that if recognized, integrated and valued and under decent work conditions and fair remuneration could potentially increase significantly the capturing of plastic waste and reduce the amount of fugitive plastics. This review paper applies an anthropogenic global environmental change theory lens to discuss the key challenges in managing plastic waste and global plastic pollution, uncovering major causes, impacts from dispersion and leakage of plastics into soil, water and air, recognizing the relational and geographic perspectives of plastic waste. A concerted effort is required to coordinating policies and technological solutions in order to strengthening, fund and recognize the waste picker sector as a key protagonist in addressing this waste issue.

While innovation in waste treatment processes continue to advance, plastics are still often put aside in comparison to other materials. It is especially the case for WEEE-plastics: as they are included in complex equipment, their recovery is disregarded, in aid of critical metals and rare earths. The recycling of plastics is hindered by the low re-integration rate of these materials, due to concerns around their quality and their availability. Ecodesign of EEE thus seems to be a robust solution. This paper details two approaches to assess product design, by respectively evaluating the product recyclability and the implementation of predefined ecodesign guidelines. Based on these methods, the construction of a quality standard for recycled plastics in France is presented. The definition of the quality includes mechanical properties, but chemical, logistics, and regulatory aspects are also at stake. Eventually, ecodesign indexes and indicators are selected, and a method for their formal construction is proposed. The goal of this study is to provide ways to assess the overall quality and usability of recycled plastics, along with design for circularity methods to integrate them in new manufactured products.

Plastic pollution is a planetary crisis posing a significant threat to humans and the environment. The regulatory response to this crisis has so far been piecemeal and has not prevented the accumulation and ubiquity of plastic pollution. The growing concern over plastic pollution and the first regulatory measures directed against it soon resulted in court cases. By early 2023, cases concerning plastic pollution emerged in more than 30 countries around the world. From holding private polluters accountable to considering the constitutionality of restrictions on certain plastic products and to ordering regulatory bodies to adopt or implement such measures, courts are playing an increasingly important role in plastic pollution governance.

Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been progressively used as an tool to quantify and compare environmental impacts in the food and beverage industry. This paper reviews LCAs on single-use food and beverage plastic products from January 2000 to June 2022. Studies are also analysed in the context of marine plastic pollution which is a global concern. A total of 91 studies were reviewed with 44% conducted for the European region. Findings suggest that most studies follow the traditional approach and structure of LCA with some studies focusing on global warming potential and others incorporating aspects such as life cycle costs and mass-based indicators. A total of 62% of reviewed studies had a cradle-to-grave scope. LCA studies can be influenced by public discourse, for example, the rising concern surrounding plastic marine pollution. From 2019, additional environmental indicators have been included in LCAs wherein the product is a major contributor to pollution. To date, six studies have proposed marine litter indicators. In future years, we can expect further development of life cycle impact assessment methods to reflect concerns in the public discourse. This includes methodologies for assessing circularity or plastic pollution. Furthermore, product foci will continue to follow popular trends.

This article categorizes and evaluates how regulatory regimes conceptualize plastics, and how such conceptualizations affect the production, consumption, and disposal of plastics. Taking a doctrinal and policy-oriented approach, it identifies four ‘frames’ – that is, four distinct and coherent sets of meanings attributed to plastics within transnational regulation – namely, plastics as waste to be managed; a material to be prevented; a good (or waste) to be traded freely; and inputs or outputs in production-consumption systems. Based on this analysis, three significant deficiencies in the transnational regulation of plastics are identified: the failure to frame plastics in terms of environmental justice and human rights issues; insufficient focus on plastics prevention (rather than management); and the role of law in reinforcing its production and consumption.

This article draws inspiration from two concepts, which initially appear to be at odds with each other. The first refers to the impact that plastics use has had on the environment and human health, while the second explores the prevalence and continued increase in the use of plastic materials. The manufacturing of plastic packaging will be reviewed to identify appropriate intervention. This article focuses on the future development of PET packaging in South Africa, exploring current literature and legislation which aid in the holistic development of the plastic packaging value chain.

Materials have been invented by mankind in the course of prehistory and history and have evolved during this long period of time to fit the parallel changes in technological epistemes. Materials, therefore, have been a cumulative technological commodity, because of the continuity that this mechanism of change has ensured Structural materials, of which all anthropogenic artefacts are made and with which they are made (machines, process tools, etc.), have been more especially enduring and have carved themselves specific roles in our world that survive across major paradigm shifts and Kondratief cycles. Materials are analyzed here in terms of their physico-chemical nature (or physio-chemical in the case of natural, renewable materials) and of their footprints on energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, two of the major lenses through which the sustainability of our economic world is presently observed. The picture that comes out of this examination is that of complementarity and cooperation between materials, with competition acting as a sting to avoid a slack in technology but no pushing any of them out of their market, at least globally. This cohabitation, akin to a natural selection mechanism in a global ecosystem, may be the real driver of dematerialization, a trend which population growth and urbanization forces on mankind.

In today’s modern world, plastics are used for a variety of everyday applications fromplastic shopping bags to medicinal applications, but most of these plastics are resistantto environmental influences such as humidity and microbial attack. The ecological problemwe now face in our landfills is the large volume of non-biodegradable plastics, which hasmade the development of biodegradable plastics an urgent matter. Because of thissituation, the Chemical Metrology Group of NMISA (National Metrology Institute of SouthAfrica) has embarked on a collaborative effort with the Fibre and Polymer TechnologyDepartment of KTH (Royal Institute of Technology) in Sweden to develop methods for theanalysis of biodegradable polymers. During the project, commercial and research samplesare analysed with various techniques, such as Pyrolysis-GC-MS, GPC, FTIR, SEM, TGA,TGA-FTIR and DSC. The aim is primarily to evaluate what information can be obtained byPyrolysis-GC-MC and FTIR-TGA with respect to thermal properties and degradation products.Currently polylactide (PLA) is the focus of many studies and it is one of the mostpromising degradable polymers. One trend is to improve the properties of PLA throughaddition of different nanofillers. In this work polylactide nanocomposites are made byblending polylactide (PLA) with zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, halloysite (aluminosilicate)or surface modified montmorillonite (phyllosilicate). The materials are characterized byscanning electron microscopy (SEM) and DSC. The thermal stability and resulting thermaldegradation products are analysed by TGA and Py-GC-MS. The results especially show theinfluence of nanoparticle surface modification on the degradation product pattern.