Researchers have warned that the danger plastic production, use and disposal pose to human health could rise sharply in the coming years if urgent global action is not taken to address the crisis.
A joint British-French research team examined the wide-ranging health impacts of plastic throughout its entire lifecycle — from oil and gas extraction used in production to the disposal of plastic waste in landfills. Despite the broad scope of the study, the researchers noted that their findings still underestimate the true scale of the problem.
The study did not fully account for the health risks linked to microplastics or the chemicals that can seep into food from plastic packaging, factors scientists say are increasingly concerning.
“This is undoubtedly a vast underestimate of the total human health impacts,” said the study’s lead author, Megan Deeney of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, while speaking with AFP.
Published in The Lancet Planetary Health, the research is the first to estimate the number of healthy years of life lost globally as a result of plastic across its lifecycle.
The researchers used Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs), a metric that measures years of life lost due to premature death or time lived with illness. Their findings showed that under a business-as-usual scenario, plastic-related health damage would more than double — rising from 2.1 million DALYs in 2016 to 4.5 million by 2040.
According to the study, greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production were responsible for the greatest health burden, followed by air pollution and exposure to toxic chemicals.
Using a plastic water bottle as an example, Deeney explained that over 90 per cent of plastic products originate from oil and gas extraction. These fossil fuels are processed through several chemical stages to produce polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the material commonly used for bottles.
She highlighted that a region in Louisiana, United States — home to more than 200 petrochemical plants — has earned the nickname “Cancer Alley” due to the concentration of plastic-related industries and reported health concerns.
After production, plastic items are transported globally before being used briefly and eventually discarded. Despite recycling efforts, most plastic waste ends up in landfills, where it can take hundreds of years to break down, releasing harmful chemicals into the environment over time.
The researchers also assessed potential solutions to reduce plastic’s health impact. They found that recycling alone offers minimal benefits. Instead, the most effective strategy is reducing the production of unnecessary plastic from the outset.
Efforts to finalise a global treaty aimed at tackling plastic pollution collapsed in August following resistance from oil-producing nations. Nevertheless, Deeney stressed that governments can still take decisive action at the national level to curb what she described as a growing global public health crisis.
Plastic Crisis Poses Growing Threat to Global Human Health – Study Warns
