Plastic Pollution Inventories and Impact Assessments for Science-Based Policy

Dear Colleagues,

Plastic production and utilization have increased tremendously during the past couple of decades and have reached a remarkable level under the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, 1.6 million tons/day of plastic waste have been generated globally. These anthropogenic synthetic materials have accumulated across a range of environments, with marine plastic litter in particular being particularly widely researched and discussed. The presence of microplastics in terrestrial and atmospheric environments and the accompanying impacts on agriculture, wildlife, and humans are also receiving attention. 

Plastic litter originates from many sources and has major environmental, economic, health, and cultural impacts.  To address this urgent situation, there needs to be robust coordination and sustained action among stakeholders. Policy and governance measures are recognized as important elements of this action. Moreover, sustainability approaches such as life-cycle thinking, circular economy (CE), and environmentally sound management (ESM) strategies of waste management should be fully considered to address the issue of plastic litter.    

Assessing the impact of plastic litter plays an important role in providing decision-makers with information. However, this impact assessment requires plastic inventory data and the development of impact assessment methods. Impact assessment consists of three main factors—fate, exposure, and effect—and thus requires collective efforts, with coordination across many disciplines. The integration of digital tools and technologies has become much easier to utilize for plastic litter monitoring at the city scale and potential linkage to evidence-based policy decisions.

On the other hand, in terms of policy aspects, science-based policymaking processes have received a great deal of attention over the past few years. The diversity of plastic waste, differing waste management systems, and multiple stakeholders are all areas that require special consideration in the policy-development process. Policymakers at the global, regional, national, and local levels must consider the quality, quantity, and diversity of data as equally important.

Traditional and innovative approaches such as waste profiling surveys, toolkits and databases, machine learning, and advanced modeling applications in the waste sector are all ways to fill the existing gaps in plastic litter inventory databases (such as life cycle inventories and transboundary plastic movement inventories) and ensure better impact assessment (life cycle impact assessment, toxicity assessment, and economic impact assessment).

This Special Issue (SI), “Inventories and Impact Assessment for Science-Based Policy”, aims to compile original research papers, reviews, perspectives, and minireviews on the subject of marine plastic litter and microplastics.

Dr. Amila Abeynayaka
Dr. Premakumara Jagath Dickella Gamaralalage
Prof. Dr. Thammarat Koottatep
Dr. Kavinda Gunasekara
Guest Editors

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