Plastic is everywhere — in our packaging, our clothing, our oceans, and increasingly, our bodies. But how much is it actually costing us in terms of human health? In this episode, host Matteo Simonetti sits down with Alistair Brown, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet Planetary Health, to unpack a landmark study quantifying the global health burden of plastic across its entire lifecycle.
The paper, by Megan Dini and colleagues at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, estimates that the plastic lifecycle was responsible for 83 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 2016 alone — and with plastic production expected to double by 2050, the trajectory is deeply concerning.
Alistair and Matteo explore what a "lifecycle assessment" actually captures, why focusing on plastic waste alone misses the bigger picture, and what the research reveals about the most effective policy levers available. The findings are striking: plastic production itself accounts for 82% of the health impact, a result with direct implications for the ongoing global plastics treaty negotiations.
Click here to read the full article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(25)00284-0/fulltext
A note from the editor: The Kenya plastic ban we refer to in the podcast is a ban on single-use plastic bags, not on plastic as a whole.
The Lancet Planetary Health in conversation with... is part of the Lancet Group podcast offering.
Editorial team: Editor-in-Chief Alastair Brown, deputy editor John Carlson, and senior editor Haoyu Wang
Podcast editing: Matteo Simonetti
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