COVID-19's release of plastic waste and its fate in the world's oceans

PNAS November 23, 2021 118 (47) e2111530118; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2111530118

Commentary

The pandemic of COVID-19 has increased the demand for disposable plastics and exacerbated the already out-of-control global plastic waste problem.

While the problem is a large one, the scale and fate of improperly managed plastic waste associated with this pandemic is unknown, so this study will use the MITgcm ocean plastic model to quantify the impact of the pandemic on plastic emissions.

As of August 23, 2021, 8.4 million ± 1.4 million tons of pandemic-related plastic waste has been generated from 193 countries, and 25.9 ± 3.8 thousand tons have been released into the world's oceans.

This is equivalent to 1.5 ± 0.2% of the total plastic discharge in the world's rivers.

The model predicts that the spatial distribution of the spill will change rapidly in the global ocean within three years, and a significant portion of the plastic debris will later land on beaches and the ocean floor, forming a circumpolar plastic accumulation zone in the Arctic.

The report also states that hospital waste accounts for the majority of global emissions (73%), with the majority of global emissions coming from Asia (72%), and that there is a need for better management of medical waste in developing countries.