Plastic pollution in our marine environment is taking place on a staggering scale with up to 12 million tonnes of new plastic waste flowing into the ocean each year. This is impacting our planet’s precious biodiversity and might damage the fragile ecosystems upon which societies depend. Marine litter has been identified as one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss in marine environments, but there is still a high degree of uncertainty related to this issue. So far researchers have mainly studied interactions of individual organisms with plastic debris while research assessing the negative impacts at the population, community or ecosystem level is still lacking. Understanding and minimizing these impacts is crucial to promote a circular economy, with the aim towards more sustainable consumption patterns and lifestyle choices to decrease the dissipation of plastics.  BASF experts from Corporate Sustainability and Industry Affairs together with external researchers have now developed a scientific model that shows how to integrate the impact of microplastics on the marine environment into impact assessments within life cycle assessments (LCA) of plastics products.  By identifying factors which are both quantifiable and show clear evidence of a significant impact on marine life, this new method takes an exo-toxicological approach, focusing on microplastic particles of 100 μm as an average size observed in the marine environment. Marine litter impacts from certain selected polymers for packaging can be classified and characterized with the LCA model. Challenges and uncertainties for the creation of such an assessment method will be addressed. Parts of a comprehensive methodology were developed and used in the characterization of marine litter effects in LCA.  The model was then applied to a test case: a hypothetical comparison between the impacts of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and polypropylene (PP) fabric. Based on the model simulations, they developed the hypothesis that products with slower fragmentation and faster degradation of plastic litter can have lower environmental impacts.  LCIA results can be derived with this new methodological approach. More information about materials fragmentation and degradation are needed to generate meaningful information and to support decision-making and management processes. With the support by LCA studies, products can be improved and pathways to generate marine litter can be reduced.

Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) of microplastics as one component of marine plastic debris

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.