At the end of December, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) met in Uruguay to develop an international legally binding instrument against plastic pollution. Scientists fear that the negotiations will overlook the diversity and complexity of the chemicals contained in plastics. This would severely compromise the effectiveness of the agreement, according to a new study published in the latest issue of the journal "Environmental Science & Technology Letters".
Plastics are complex materials. A recent study identified more than 10,000 chemical substances used in the production of plastics, which means that plastics can contain a wide variety of chemical substances. The diversity of chemicals in plastics can pose numerous challenges to current and planned technological solutions to tackle plastic pollution. This in turn makes the different waste streams incompatible. This incompatibility can significantly affect the quality of recycled products, leading to downcycling and toxic waste that requires additional safety measures.
