Plastics pollution exacerbates the impactsof all planetary boundaries

Plastics are an international governance priority because of extensive and resource-intensive production, uncontrolled
environmental releases, and failure to control the chemicals within the materials. We examine the
evidence that plastics have exceeded the planetary safe operating space, discussing how plastics pollution
affects multiple Earth system processes along the impact pathway from resource extraction and production
to release to environmental fate and impacts. Multiple lines of evidence capture the complex reality of these
novel entities; a single planetary boundary quantification would be detrimental. We demonstrate causal links
between plastics and other environmental problems, exacerbating the consequences of breaching other
planetary boundaries. We propose biophysically defined control variables for the planetary boundaries
framework as a way to measure, monitor, and mitigate global plastics pollution. We call for urgent action,
recognizing plastics pollution not only as a waste management problem but as an integrative part of climate
change, biodiversity, and natural-resource-use policy.