A University of Plymouth academic is part of a collaboration from the fields of healthcare, the ocean and the environment who have worked together to quantify plastic's considerable risks to all life on earth.

Professor Richard Thompson OBE FRS is among the scientists on the Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health, which has revealed a never-before-seen analysis showing plastic as a hazard at every stage of its life cycle.

Its key findings reveal that plastic causes disease, impairment, and premature mortality at every stage of its life cycle, with the health repercussions disproportionately affecting vulnerable, low-income, minority communities, particularly children.

The commission also reported that plastic waste is ubiquitous, with the ocean – on which we depend for oxygen, food and livelihoods – suffering beyond measure, with micro- and nanoplastic particles contaminating the water and the sea floor and entering the marine food chain.

It concludes that current plastic production, use, and disposal patterns are not sustainable and are responsible for significant harm to human health, the environment, and the economy, as well as deep societal injustices.

It also recommends establishing health protective standards for plastic chemicals under the Global Plastics Treaty, requiring testing all polymers and plastics chemicals for toxicity before entering markets, as well as post-market surveillance.