Review of plastic footprint methodologies: laying the foundation for the development of a standardised plastic footprint measurement tool

Abstract

Laying the foundation for the development of a standardised plastic footprint measurement tool v Foreword Our planet is drowning in plastic. Since 1950, an estimated 8,300 million tonnes of plastic were produced, and up to 12 million tonnes-the equivalent of more than one dump truck per minuteare discarded into our oceans annually. This reflects an imminent global plastic pollution crisis that will require a fundamental paradigm shift in the way we produce, use, and manage plastic. There is currently no common agreed-upon methodology to measure the extent of the plastic pollution crisis. This undermines effective and informed decision-making to successfully tackle the issue. Recognising the needs identified in the UNEA-3 resolution, this review of plastic footprint methodologies lays the foundation for the development of a standardised plastic footprint measurement tool. It also provides, for the first time, an extensive overview of all the existing plastic footprint methodologies-there are currently 19 such methodologies-along with a glossary of key terms related to plastics. Plastic is versatile, malleable, light weight and cheap. This makes it a tremendously useful material for a wide variety of applications, from plastic bags given at convenience stores and supermarkets, to high-end, space-grade equipment. That being said, plastic's durability-the culprit of its attractive yet problematic attributes-has made it an aggressive pollutant. It is systematically contaminating every corner of our ecosphere and at an alarming pace, infecting the air we breathe, the soil we live on, and the fish we eat. A stark symbol of our economic era, the plastic management crisis has now inspired a powerful momentum in global efforts to stem the tide of this out-of-control pollution problem. It is also fueling an ongoing debate on how best to solve the problem before its magnitude surpasses us. This publication is part of IUCN's Close the Plastic Tap Programme and provides a review of existing methodologies to identify the abundance and distribution, types and sources, as well as pathways and sinks of plastic pollution at different scales. According to this report, what is currently lacking is a standardised methodology to appropriately assess how much plastic is leaking into oceans and to measure how harmful this leakage is for ecosystems and human health. The report finds that most existing methodologies focus on assessment of plastic usage, waste or recycling rates. While many methodologies are being developed, there is currently no methodology for assessing impacts in a comprehensive manner that allows measurement of trade-offs between different impact categories-for example related to climate and ecosystem damage. The report also underlines the critical need to adopt a holistic, all-encompassing approach to measuring the impact of plastic pollution, one that assesses the entire value chain of plastic products and their entire life cycle. This report's conclusions lay a solid foundation for the development of a standardised a...

MOUNTAINPLAST: A New Italian Plastic Footprint with a Focus on Mountain Activities

“…Marques et al (2017) [25] use the term 'footprint' to refer to "metrics that capture the direct effects of an activity as well as the indirect effects that are transferred along a supply chain". A broad range of footprint methodologies have been developed in the past two decades to inform companies, policymakers and the public about the magnitude of consumption and production activities' effects on the environment [26]. Plastic footprints based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology are typically applied to a specific product or company and are predictive methodologies based on modelling that compiles data on industry and product life cycles [26].…”

“…A broad range of footprint methodologies have been developed in the past two decades to inform companies, policymakers and the public about the magnitude of consumption and production activities' effects on the environment [26]. Plastic footprints based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology are typically applied to a specific product or company and are predictive methodologies based on modelling that compiles data on industry and product life cycles [26]. Alternatively, descriptive methods based on field measurements can be used, based on data on plastic concentrations collected in situ [26].…”

“…Plastic footprints based on a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology are typically applied to a specific product or company and are predictive methodologies based on modelling that compiles data on industry and product life cycles [26]. Alternatively, descriptive methods based on field measurements can be used, based on data on plastic concentrations collected in situ [26]. Neither of these approaches is suitable for estimating the plastic footprint of common people, as they require highly specific data and information that make the methodology too complex to be applied to an individual level.…”

A solution package for plastic pollution – from measurement to action: insights from Eastern and Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Mediterranean

“…IUCN's decision to undertake research across the eight pilot areas emerged from the research of the Close the Plastic Tap programme, especially as an outcome of the publication of Review of plastic footprint methodologies: Laying the foundation for the development of a standardised plastic footprint measurement tool (Boucher et al, 2019) Presented in this chapter are summaries from the eight hotspot assessments. The assessments are publicly available and provide results that identify priority actions to eliminate plastic leakage.…”

Microplastic regulation should be more precise to incentivize both innovation and environmental safety

“…circular economy, recycling, chemcycling) can be one way to limit environmental, and subsequently health, burdens of these materials. However, plastic leakages along the life cycle are still occurring today in large quantities and thus we need to understand how both the plastic items, as well as any incorporated additives and chemicals, affect environmental and biological systems 15 . The many diffuse sources of plastic, including microplastic, are generally anticipated to negatively impact the water quality of oceans, lakes, rivers and soil, but efforts are still under way to understand how different microplastic varieties will behave in and affect these ecosystems.…”