Effects of plastic on the environment revealed

A University of Plymouth lecturer is the lead author of a prestigious new Royal Society publication examining the effects of plastics on the environment and human health. Richard Thompson, who is one of the foremost researchers on this topical subject, was chosen to edit the 180 page special issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B which is published online today pending hard copy publication towards the end of the summer. The volume which has taken two years to compile contains contributions from more than 60 scientists worldwide together with papers from industry and policy makers and provides the most comprehensive summary available of the benefits and concerns around our current use of plastics. The volume considers how plastics have been mass produced for 50 years and have transformed our daily lives. Around 8 per cent of world oil production is used to make plastics and plastic production is likely to exceed 300 million tonnes per annum by 2010. Plastic products have brought numerous societal benefits; including applications in medicine, electronics and energy saving parts in cars and aeroplanes. However, our main use of plastics is for disposable items of packaging which are typically discarded within a year of production.