Plastic Waste – UN Negotiations – Nature Editorial – “researchers must play their part in designing adequate measurement, monitoring and compliance systems”

Jack Cooper

According to a July 12, 2023, Nature Editorial https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02252-x “... Plastic waste is everywhere — and countries must be held accountable for reducing it … As UN negotiations on eliminating plastic pollution enter a crucial phase, researchers must play their part in designing adequate measurement, monitoring and compliance systems … Plastics have infiltrated some of the planet’s most remote and pristine areas, as two papers published in Nature show to dramatic effect … [One https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06168-4] systematically assesses the extent of plastic contamination in diverse freshwater lakes and reservoirs across 23 countries, and find them to be widely contaminated with plastic … [The other https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06113-5] shows that … macroplastics, represent the largest share of anthropogenic debris found in shallow and deep coral reefs … Countries will need to discuss and agree a standard or system for how they measure plastic pollution … [but] there is no dedicated expert group looking at measurement or accountability …” #PlasticWaste #SingleUsePlastic #MicroPlastics @Nature @calacademy @unimib