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Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B (2009) 364, 19731976

doi:10.1098/rstb.2009.0054

Introduction

Our plastic age

Richard C. Thompson1,*, Shanna H. Swan2, Charles J. Moore3
and Frederick S. vom Saal4
1

Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Marine Institute, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus,
Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
2
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
3
Algalita Marine Research Foundation, CA, USA
4
Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, MO, USA

Within the last few decades, plastics have revolutionized our daily lives. Globally we use in excess of
260 million tonnes of plastic per annum, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of world oil production. In this Theme Issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, we describe current
and future trends in usage, together with the many benefits that plastics bring to society. At the
same time, we examine the environmental consequences resulting from the accumulation of
waste plastic, the effects of plastic debris on wildlife and concerns for human health that arise
from the production, usage and disposal of plastics. Finally, we consider some possible solutions
to these problems together with the research and policy priorities necessary for their
implementation.
Keywords: plastic; polymer; debris; endocrine disruption; phthalates; waste management

The term plastics applies to a wide range of materials

that at some stage in manufacture are capable of flow
such that they can be extruded, moulded, cast, spun
or applied as a coating. Synthetic polymers are typically prepared by polymerization of monomers derived
from oil or gas, and plastics are usually made from
these by addition of various chemical additives. There
are currently some 20 different groups of plastics, each
with numerous grades and varieties (APME 2006).
Plastics are incredibly versatile materials; they are
inexpensive, lightweight, strong, durable, corrosionresistant, with high thermal and electrical insulation
properties. The diversity of polymers and the versatility
of their properties facilitate the production of a vast
array of plastic products that bring technological
advances, energy savings and numerous other societal
benefits (Andrady & Neal 2009). The first truly synthetic polymer, Bakelite, was developed by Belgian
chemist Leo Baekeland in 1907, and many other plastics were subsequently developed over the next few
decades. It was not until the 1940s and 1950s, however, that mass production of everyday plastic items
really commenced. On the opening page of their
book Plastics, Yarsley & Couzens (1945; first published in 1941) consider that the possible applications
[of plastics] are almost inexhaustible. At that time,
global production was less than a million tonnes per
annum, but plastics were already widely used in

products ranging from cups and saucers to components for cars and aeroplanes. The final chapter of
their book anticipates the ways that plastics will influence the life of someone born 70 years ago at the start
of our plastic age. (Yarsley & Couzens 1945)
This [imaginary] plastic man will come into a world of
colour and bright shining surfaces where childish
hands find nothing to break, no sharp edges, or corners to cut or graze, no crevices to harbour dirt or
germs . . . . The walls of his nursery, his bath . . . all
his toys, his cot, the moulded light perambulator in
which he takes the air, the teething ring he bites, the
unbreakable bottle he feeds from [all plastic]. As he
grows he cleans his teeth and brushes his hair with
plastic brushes, clothes himself with in plastic clothes,
writes his first lesson with a plastic pen and does his
lessons in a book bound with plastic. The windows
of his school curtained with plastic cloth entirely
grease- and dirt-proof . . . and the frames, like those
of his house are of moulded plastic, light and easy to
open never requiring any paint.
(Yarsley & Couzens 1945, p.149)

The text continues through extensive use of plastics for

furniture and interior design, for beauty and leisure, in
industry and in transport by road, sea and air. Until in
old age plastic man:

* Author for correspondence ([email protected])

One contribution of 15 to a Theme Issue Plastics, the environment
and human health.

1973

wears a denture with silent plastic teeth and spectacles

with plastic lenses . . . until at last he sinks into his grave
in a hygienically enclosed plastic coffin
(Yarsley & Couzens 1945, p.152)
This journal is q 2009 The Royal Society

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1974

R. C. Thompson et al.

Our plastic age

300
legislation

250
production (Mt)

concerns for human health

200
concerns for wildlife

150
accumulation in natural habitats

100
product/usage diversification

50
biopolymers

polymer invention and development

0
1900

1920

1940

1960

1980

2000

2020

Canadian Government prohibit BPA content in baby bottles2008

voluntary ban on plastic bags by some UK retailers2008
taxes/bans on plastic bagsIreland and South Africa2003
plastic debris reported in deep sea2000

UK packaging directives legislation1990s

MARPOL restrictions on dumping of garbage from ships1988

first concerns about uptake of chemicals from plastics by wildlife1972

first reports of entanglement by wildlife1970s
plastic pellets/fragments reported in marine habitats1970s

plastic debris recorded in guts of seabirds1960

polypropylene discovered1954

polyethylene terephthalate discovered1941

polyethylene discovered1933
commercial production of polystyrene begins1930

commercial production of PVC begins1920s

Bakelite developed by Leo Baekeland1907

polystyrene (1839) and PVC (1872) already discovered

Figure 1. Summary illustrating historical stages in the development, production and use of plastics together with associated
concerns and legislative measures (numerous sources). Solid red line shows plastic production in millions of tonnes (Mt).
Reproduced with permission from APME (2006). BPA, bisphenol A; PVC, polyvinyl chloride.

This Theme Issue explores the evidence and the diversity

of scientific opinion surrounding our use of plastics at the
start of the twenty-first century. To set the present day
perspective into context, we have included a historical
overview summarizing the development and production
of plastic, together with associated concerns, regulatory
measures and some potential future trends (figure 1).
Many of these topics are considered in detail within the
Theme Issue, and we have included a selection of
quotes from these papers to illustrate the diversity of
subject matter, scientific opinions and conclusions
therein (table 1).
The series of papers starts with a review of the history
of polymer development together with some of their
applications, past, present and future (Andrady & Neal
2009). This includes the use of lightweight plastic components in cars and aeroplanes to reduce fuel usage; the
use of inexpensive plastic casings to make information
technology and electrical goods far more readily
Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B (2009)

accessible than would otherwise have been possible;

and the use of plastics for sterile dressings and medical
products. The most substantial use of plastics today,
accounting for well over a third of production, is, however, for disposable items of packaging, most of which
are discarded within a year or so of manufacture
(Barnes et al. 2009; Hopewell et al. 2009).
The durability and increasing usage of plastics create
a major waste management problem with plastic
accounting for approximately 10 per cent of the waste
we generate. Some of this is recycled, but a substantial
proportion is disposed of to landfill (Barnes et al. 2009;
Hopewell et al. 2009). A range of terms are used to
describe the waste that is produced by modern society,
these include trash, garbage, rubbish, litter and debris;
usage varies according to the type and origin of the
waste and according to regional differences in terminology. Usage of these terms is considered to be
interchangeable in the papers within this volume; the

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Our plastic age R. C. Thompson et al.

1975

Table 1. Selected quotes reflecting the diversity of content and some of the scientific conclusions of authors in this Theme
Issue. Phthalates, BPA, PBDE and tetrabromobisphenol A (TTBPA) are chemical additives, and in the case of BPA, a
monomer used in the production of plastics.
Any future scenario where plastics do not play an increasingly important role in human life therefore seems unrealistic
(Andrady & Neal 2009).
One of the most ubiquitous and long-lasting recent changes to the surface of our planet is the accumulation and
fragmentation of plastics (Barnes et al. 2009).
Monitoring is crucial to assess the efficacy of measures implemented to reduce the abundance of plastic debris, but it is
complicated by large spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the amounts of plastic debris and by our limited understanding
of the pathways followed by plastic debris and its long-term fate (Ryan et al. 2009).
The environmental, cultural, aesthetic, commercial and other problems arising from pelagic plastics in particular and varied
marine debris items in general are manifold, widely acknowledged and often difficult to address (Gregory 2009).
As plastics production and usage continue to increase, particularly in economically developing countries, the environmental
implications of their disposal should be carefully considered to avoid inadvertent release, magnification and transport of
contaminants (Teuten et al. 2009).
Phthalates and BPA have been shown to affect reproduction in all studied animal groups, to impair development in
crustaceans and amphibians and to induce genetic aberrations. Molluscs, crustaceans and amphibians appear to be
especially sensitive to these compounds, and biological effects are observed at environmentally relevant exposures in the
low ng l21 to mg l21 range (Oehlmann et al. 2009).
PBDE and TTBPA have been shown to disrupt thyroid hormone homeostasis while PBDEs also exhibit anti-androgen
action. Experimental investigations in animals indicate a wide variety of effects associated with exposure to these
compounds, causing concern regarding potential risk to human health (Talsness et al. 2009).
Studies also are needed to identify the phthalate metabolites and BPA species relevant to human health, paying special
attention to potentially vulnerable segments of the population (e.g. children, women of reproductive age, minorities)
(Koch & Calafat 2009).
. . . small changes in hormone levels resulting from exposure may be of public health importance when considering the
prevalence of exposure to plastic additives and endocrine disrupting compounds among entire populations (Meeker et al.
2009).
Around 4 per cent of world oil and gas production, a non-renewable resource, is used as feedstock for plastics and a further
3 4% is expended to provide energy for their manufacture. A major portion of plastic produced each year is used to make
disposable items of packaging or other short-lived products that are discarded within a year of manufacture. These two
observations alone indicate that our current use of plastics is not sustainable. In addition, because of the durability of the
polymers involved, substantial quantities of discarded end-of-life plastics are accumulating as debris in landfills and in
natural habitats worldwide. Recycling is one of the most important actions currently available to reduce these impacts and
represents one of the most dynamic areas in the plastics industry today. Recycling provides opportunities to reduce oil
usage, carbon dioxide emissions and the quantities of waste requiring disposal (Hopewell et al. 2009).
Bioplastic polymers have great potential to contribute to material recovery, reduction of landfill and use of renewable
resources. Widespread public awareness of these materials and effective infrastructure for stringent control of certification,
collection, separation and composting will be crucial to obtaining these benefits in full (Song et al. 2009).
. . . there is an opportunity to address many of these issues simultaneously by using the science in this issue to help develop
an enhanced Road Map for policy around plastics, the environment and human health in the UK (Shaxson 2009).
. . . plastic production continues to grow at approximately 9 per cent per annum . . . . As a consequence, the quantity of
plastics produced in the first 10 years of the current century will approach the total that was produced in the entire
century that preceded. (Thompson et al. 2009).

reader should focus on the types, sources, accumulation, disposal and effects of the waste.
Plastic debris has accumulated in natural habitats
from the poles to the equator (Barnes et al. 2009);
it is a very conspicuous component of the debris that
is present in the marine environment, and most of
the literature on the accumulation of plastic in the
environment and the associated problems for wildlife
has come from marine habitats (Gregory 2009).
Monitoring represents an important step towards
quantifying spatial and temporal trends in the abundance of all types of debris, including plastic.
Numerous national and international schemes have
been initiated to record quantities and categories
(uses, sources, material types, sizes), and in some
cases to facilitate debris removal (Ryan et al. 2009).
Substantial quantities of plastic debris already contaminate marine habitats from remote shorelines and
inaccessible areas of the deep sea to heavily populated
coastlines. The ubiquity of this debris in the marine
environment has resulted in numerous accounts of
Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B (2009)

species ingesting and becoming entangled in plastic.

As a consequence of the durability of plastics, these
encounters typically result in injury or impaired movement and can ultimately result in death (Gregory
2009). There is evidence that plastics are fragmenting
in the environment and, as a consequence, will
become available for ingestion by a wider range of
organisms (Barnes et al. 2009). In addition to these
physical effects, there has been speculation for over
30 years that the ingestion of plastic debris could
lead to the transfer of toxic chemicals to wildlife.
Recent publications have raised new concerns around
this issue (Mato et al. 2001; Thompson et al. 2004;
Arthur et al. 2009); Teuten et al. (2009) present a summary of current evidence together with new data on
the accumulation of chemicals from plastic by wildlife.
In parallel with concerns for wildlife, there is a
rapidly growing body of evidence relating to public
health issues arising from current use of plastics.
A range of chemicals are added to plastics during
manufacture, to enhance the performance of plastics.

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1976

R. C. Thompson et al.

Our plastic age

These additives can be referred to as plasticizers and

include flame retardants, stabilizers, antioxidants and
other chemicals such as antimicrobials that give each
type of plastic unique properties. There is concern
that potentially harmful chemical additives including
phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA) and polybrominated
diphenyl ethers (PBDE) could be transferred to
humans directly from plastics, for example from flexible
toys mouthed by toddlers, or indirectly, for example via
food and drink that is packaged or transported via
tubing in plastics containing these additives (e.g.
Wagner & Oehlmann 2009). Evidence relating to this
is considered from three perspectives: human body burdens of chemicals used in plastic manufacture (Koch &
Calafat 2009); experimental studies on animals
(Talsness et al. 2009) and the effects of these chemicals
on humans (Meeker et al. 2009). These papers present
stark evidence and consider some possible solutions.
Looking to the next few decades, it seems inevitable
that humankind will become more reliant on plastics;
therefore, the Theme Issue examines potential solutions for waste management of used plastics. For
packaging applications, in particular, biodegradable
plastics have been advocated as an approach that uses
renewable biomass and/or facilitates decomposition at
the end of a products lifetime. Song et al. (2009) consider the potential applications and subsequent degradation of these materials, presenting new data on
biodegradation in domestic composting conditions.
The three Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) have been,
extensively and lyrically (Johnson 2006; the three Rs:
from the album Sing-A-Longs and Lullabies for the
Film Curious Ge), advocated as solutions to the wasteful nature of our society. These strategies together with
a fourth and fifth R (energy recovery and molecular
redesign) are considered by Hopewell et al. (2009) and
Thompson et al. (2009), who describe current trends
and examine the limitations to recycling of plastics.
Having considered the benefits of plastics, the
problems associated with production and the use of
plastics past and present and some solutions, the
Theme Issue also examines the sciencepolicy interface
where appropriate directions will be determined by
governments and where policies will be implemented
to restrict activities and incentivize change (Shaxson
2009). Finally, the guest editors and contributors
synthesize the work presented in the Theme Issue as a
whole to give a summary of current understanding
together with priorities for research, innovation and
policy that are required to guide our future use of
plastics in relation to the environment and human
health (Thompson et al. 2009).
We are indebted to James Joseph and Claire Rawlinson in
the editorial office at the Royal Society. Without their
guidance and patience, this issue would not have been
possible.

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