Do we need more research on the environmental impacts of plastics?
We question whether the rapid growth in research on the impacts of environmental plastics over the last decade has substantially improved our understanding of these impacts. By the mid-1990s, the major environmental and economic impacts of plastics were sufficiently well known to conclude that they...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Environmental Research Letters |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac8ab5 |
| _version_ | 1797747407301115904 |
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| author | Peter G Ryan Takunda Y Chitaka |
| author_facet | Peter G Ryan Takunda Y Chitaka |
| author_sort | Peter G Ryan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We question whether the rapid growth in research on the impacts of environmental plastics over the last decade has substantially improved our understanding of these impacts. By the mid-1990s, the major environmental and economic impacts of plastics were sufficiently well known to conclude that they posed a significant environmental threat. Accordingly, the focus of the Third International Marine Debris Conference shifted from researching impacts to devising solutions. We should re-embrace this message, and study how best to change the inappropriate human behaviours that lie at the heart of the plastics crisis. The main role of natural scientists should be to provide robust monitoring data to assess the success of the various mitigation efforts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a217c1c3afc5486dbae37436f798753d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1748-9326 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T15:50:05Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj.art-a217c1c3afc5486dbae37436f798753d2023-08-09T15:15:03ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research Letters1748-93262022-01-0117909020110.1088/1748-9326/ac8ab5Do we need more research on the environmental impacts of plastics?Peter G Ryan0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3356-2056Takunda Y Chitaka1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1109-0593FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence, University of Cape Town , Rondebosch 7701, South AfricaDSI/NRF/CSIR Chair in Waste and Society, University of the Western Cape , Cape Town, South AfricaWe question whether the rapid growth in research on the impacts of environmental plastics over the last decade has substantially improved our understanding of these impacts. By the mid-1990s, the major environmental and economic impacts of plastics were sufficiently well known to conclude that they posed a significant environmental threat. Accordingly, the focus of the Third International Marine Debris Conference shifted from researching impacts to devising solutions. We should re-embrace this message, and study how best to change the inappropriate human behaviours that lie at the heart of the plastics crisis. The main role of natural scientists should be to provide robust monitoring data to assess the success of the various mitigation efforts.https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac8ab5 |
| spellingShingle | Peter G Ryan Takunda Y Chitaka Do we need more research on the environmental impacts of plastics? Environmental Research Letters |
| title | Do we need more research on the environmental impacts of plastics? |
| title_full | Do we need more research on the environmental impacts of plastics? |
| title_fullStr | Do we need more research on the environmental impacts of plastics? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do we need more research on the environmental impacts of plastics? |
| title_short | Do we need more research on the environmental impacts of plastics? |
| title_sort | do we need more research on the environmental impacts of plastics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac8ab5 |
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