Researchers conduct first global assessment of the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions from plastics
Monday, April 15, 2019 - 16:13
in Earth & Climate
From campaigns against microplastics to news of the great Pacific garbage patch, public awareness is growing about the outsized effect plastic has on the world's oceans. However, its effect on the air is far less obvious. Plastic production, use, and disposal all emit prodigious amounts of greenhouse gasses, but scientists haven't had a firm grasp on the scope.