Pollution sources

Microplastics are the minute quantities of plastic that result from industrial processes, household release and the breakdown of larger plastic items. As these plastics emerge as a potential threat to the environment and to public health, it has never been more critical to understand their distribution and environmental impact. Microplastics in the Ecosphere aims to cultivate that understanding with a comprehensive overview of microplastics in terrestrial ecosystems.

This guidance is co-developed by UNEP, IUCN, and the Life Cycle Initiative. It aims to provide a methodological framework for identifying ‘hotspots’ of plastic pollution, finding the leakages and their impacts along the entire plastic value chain, and then providing recommendations for action once these hotspots are identified.

This report seeks to share understanding of the roots of plastic polymer pathways to the Baltic Sea, then moves to defining the nature and extent of the problem, then passes to the impacts on sea ice habitat and marine species of the region. This is followed by a shift to focus on a sense of what is currently happening in the business world to slow or stop plastic effects, what is possible to anticipate for the future, and which responses from industry and regulation by government policy will be most plausible and effective in mitigating the impacts.