Plastics: Nature-Based Solutions and Effective Governance

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the origin and types of plastics followed by some models of transport and fate of the microplastics that help in understanding the sources and distribution of plastics. It explores the life cycle impacts of plastics on cumulative greenhouse gas emissions and investigates the cyclical nature of plastic pollution and extreme weather events. The book then focuses on circular economy principles and their application to the plastics sector and discusses how valued products and services need to be redesigned to eliminate plastic pollution and waste. It also summarizes the current status of research that has been carried out on the detection of microplastics (MPs) in aquaculture organisms; MP pollution in mussels, MP sources in an aquaculture environment, mechanisms of interactions with organisms, contamination and effects on biota.