Plastic Pollution Nature Based Solutions and Effective Governance

“Plastics have been very useful in providing us with much ease and convenience. When we look around their presence is felt almost everywhere in our life: plastic bottles (no worries that it will break, lightweight), plastic bags, toys, kitchen (Styrofoam cups, trays, Tupperware, packaging that preserves the life of food), fishing nets, microplastics in cosmetics, tooth-paste and now disposable masks from the Covid-19 pandemic. Suddenly, plastic has been found in most unexpected places – drinking water, oceans, inside aquatic animals, impacting our environment, human health and health of the environment. Although, a lot of attention has been focused on the marine environment (the sink for plastic waste), the focus is now also shifting to terrestrial environments and major pathways of plastics or microplastics, rivers or freshwater system, to oceans. This book is an attempt to bring out some of these issues in a more scientific way, discuss the impact of plastics on human health and health of environment including aquatic animals and finally look at some global policy responses and technical solutions. It also highlights a research agenda for future work on this important topic”–