© 2025 EPFL/Illustration by Capucine Mattiussi
Plastic is everywhere in modern society. While it has paved the way for enormous progress, the pollution it leaves behind is now creating major challenges.
Plastic - or more specifically, synthetic materials made from the chemical treatment of petroleum - has been a feature of our lives since the 1950s, and the volume produced every year is growing at a dizzying pace. Production has more than doubled in the past two decades, from 200 million tons in 2000 to over 400 million in 2024.
Yet end-of-life plastic is a serious problem. Less than 10% of the plastic used globally is recycled. And while 19% is incinerated, only a fraction of that is used to generate heat for other purposes, such as for district heating or power production, or burned with filters in place to reduce air pollution. The vast majority of plastic ends up in huge landfills in developing countries or dumped into the ocean (at the rate of 15 metric tons per minute), where it either disappears deep under water or aggregates into massive floating garbage patches in the mid-Pacific - which together exceed the size of France several times over.
What's more, the particles released as plastic breaks down pollute every corner of our planet. Microplastic has been found everywhere: in the air, on the ground, in the sea - where it threatens the lives of marine organisms - in permanent snow and even in the produce we eat.
Underpinning modern society
However, "plastic is what has enabled our society to develop," says Harm-Anton Klok, who's the head of EPFL's Polymers Laboratory. He gives his new students an intentionally controversial presentation describing the many benefits of polymers. "Plastic has revolutionized the world and reduced our dependence on raw materials such as wood, metal and plant fibers that we wouldn't be able to produce or extract in large enough quantities to meet the needs of the global population."
He also points out that scientists are exploring innovative applications for several kinds of plastic. "For instance, our research group is developing synthetic nanocomposites that can deliver drugs directly inside diseased cells or that can contribute to increasing the efficiency of agriculture and mitigating the negative environmental effects of agrochemicals."
Véronique Michaud, the head of EPFL's Laboratory for Processing of Advanced Composites, points out another benefit: "Most of the resin used to make plastic is a byproduct of petroleum refining. So in a way, we're repurposing industrial waste." This helps explain why plastic production has soared alongside the boom in oil extraction capacity.
Honestly, who wants to go back to wearing shoes with wooden or corded soles?
An overly linear economy
Is plastic still fantastic (to paraphrase a hit by French rock group Elmer Food Beat)? The song, released in 1990, extolled the benefits of condoms in the fight against AIDS. In 2019, the group released a new version of the song, replacing "fantastique" with "dramatique." This time, the idea was to build awareness of ocean plastic pollution and raise funds for remediation efforts.
Despite the numerous - and considerable - advantages to using polymers, the truth is, they're creating an environmental disaster. "The problem is that our approach to plastic is based on a linear-economy paradigm: production, consumption and disposal," says Klok. "We instead need to adopt a circular-economy approach, whereby a greater proportion of reused and recycled plastic is employed than virgin resin. But that's a very complicated goal to reach. On top of overcoming the technical challenges, we would also need to change our habits and behavior. Just think of how many disposable plastic items we use every day!"
Some governments have taken modest steps to regulate the material, but progress is slow. Banning plastic straws might draw consumers' attention to the issue, but it's barely a drop in the bucket.
"There are many technological, environmental and societal facets to the problem," says Klok. For instance, some consumer habits have been around for over a century - Bakelite, the first synthetically derived plastic, was invented in 1907 - and can't be changed. "And honestly, who wants to go back to wearing shoes with wooden or corded soles?" says Michaud.
Research at every level
That said, there's scope for improvement at every level. Scientists at universities and businesses are coming up with promising ideas on a regular basis. "One key will be shifting to materials with a longer lifespan," says Michaud. "Another will be turning to composite materials like the ones we're developing in our lab. With composites, fewer raw materials are needed to manufacture a given product, while the material still has the same or even better properties. Composites also enable lighter-weight products - this can be especially useful for car and airplane parts since it lowers their fuel requirement."
The problem is that our approach to plastic is based on a linear-economy paradigm.
Scientists are also looking into the potential of bioplastic, or plastic made from biomass rather than petroleum. While this approach sounds promising, Michaud warns that "bioplastic sometimes requires more chemical processing than conventional plastic." According to Klok, "if you take an entire life-cycle view, alternative materials could have a bigger carbon footprint than regular plastic even though they don't involve petroleum refining." That's what Lego discovered, for example, when it tried to find a recycled-PET alternative for its bricks. The company gave up in 2023 after conducting a full life-cycle analysis, despite having made hefty investments.
Other studies are exploring ways to lower the toxicity of end-of-life plastic residue, make plastic waste easier to recover and recycle, and radically transform this waste into useful raw materials. "There are so many challenges that we need to focus on the most effective strategies and the ones that make the most sense," says Michaud. Klok adds, "if we really want to make an impact, then a concerted, comprehensive effort is needed and governments must step up to the plate." But here, we run into the same old problem: no country wants to take the first step on its own because that would dent its competitiveness.
International awareness
Many activists are getting involved in initiatives by NGOs to influence international policymakers. One example is the coalition of 450 scientists that advised the negotiators taking part in an international summit on plastic pollution in Geneva this past August. Although the negotiations didn't produce an agreement, this was not a failure, as numerous countries are now even more engaged with the issue and have ambitious goals in mind.
"Back in the 1950s, nobody imagined the scale of pollution that plastic would generate," says Michaud. The technology promised - and delivered - a miracle to consumers worldwide. We've become aware of the problem late in the game, but progress is being made. This special report examines some of the methods being developed to limit the damage. However, they won't work in a vacuum: we also need conviction and political will.
