Extraction and Production

By understanding the plastics crisis as a problem of overproduction, we shift the focus from solutions based on hopeless recycling schemes and blaming consumers to the real root causes – corporate profits from producing more and more unsustainable materials.

Plastics production releases toxic chemicals that are harmful to human health, with exposures to nearby communities and occupational risks for workers. Air pollution around plastic plants is also a significant health hazard to nearby communities: more than 100 concerning chemicals in air pollution from plastic manufacture have been identified, including cancer-causing substances and endocrine disrupting chemicals.

Plastics manufacture also pollutes waterways. Plastic makers create plastic pellets (also called nurdles), lentil-sized plastic discs that are shipped for further production into products. Since pellets are made with toxic chemicals, spills and transport losses spread the toxic chemicals globally, primarily through waterways. One study estimated that 230,000 tons of plastic pellets per year enter the environment. 

See more in IPEN’s summary of our two studies on plastic pellets.