Degradation Rates of Plastics in the Environment

Plastic waste is currently generated at a rate approaching 400 Mt year–1. The amount of plastics accumulating in the environment is growing rapidly, yet our understanding of its persistence is very limited. This Perspective summarizes the existing literature on environmental degradation rates and pathways for the major types of thermoplastic polymers. A metric to harmonize disparate types of measurements, the specific surface degradation rate (SSDR), is implemented and used to extrapolate half-lives. SSDR values cover a very wide range, with some of the variability arising due to degradation studies conducted in different natural environments. SSDRs for high density polyethylene (HDPE) in the marine…

• EP
  Environmental Protection Agency

  Award: 83557907
• UO
  University of California, Santa Barbara
• DO
  Division of Graduate Education

  Award: DGE-1633764
• DO
  Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems

  Award: CBET-1604095