Cited by 1,294Microplastics and Plastic PollutionWaste Management and RecyclingPolymer crystallization and properties

Our plastic age

Open access
Thompson, Richard C., Swan, Shanna H., Moore, Charles J., vom Saal, Frederick S.·2009·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Abstract

Within the last few decades, plastics have revolutionized our daily lives. Globally we use in excess of 260 million tonnes of plastic per annum, accounting for approximately 8 per cent of world oil production. In this Theme Issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society , we describe current and future trends in usage, together with the many benefits that plastics bring to society. At the same time, we examine the environmental consequences resulting from the accumulation of waste plastic, the effects of plastic debris on wildlife and concerns for human health that arise from the production, usage and disposal of plastics. Finally, we consider some possible solutions to these problems together with the research and policy priorities necessary for their implementation.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1098/rstb.2009.0054

Cites

16 of 16 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Plastic litter is transported by wind, surface runoff and rivers from land to the ocean or is directly released via shoreline littering and offshore activities to the sea where it accumulates.

    “Plastic litter is transported by wind, surface runoff and rivers from land to the ocean or is directly released via shoreline littering and offshore activities to the sea where it accumulates.3,8,9”

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Arthur C. Baker J. Bamford H. 2009 In Proc. Int. Res. Workshop on the Occurrence, Effects and Fate of Microplastic Marine Debris, 9–11 September 2008 NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS-OR&R30
  2. Yarsley V. E. Couzens E. G. 1945 Plastics Middlesex: Penguin Books Limited

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Thompson, R. C., Swan, S. H., Moore, C. J., & vom Saal, F. S.
Affiliations
  • University of Plymouth (GB)
  • University of Rochester Medicine (US)
  • Japan Marine Science Foundation (JP)
  • Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, MO, USA
Corresponding author
Thompson, Richard C.
Venue
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Published
2009-07-27
Volume
364
Issue
1526
Pages
1973-1976
ISSN
  • 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-2970
OpenAlex
W2130881727
Cited by
1,294
References
16
Citations by year
2026: 92 · 2025: 117 · 2024: 132 · 2023: 154 · 2022: 152 · 2021: 161 · 2020: 108 · 2019: 86 · 2018: 60 · 2017: 56 · 2016: 37 · 2015: 44 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 14
FWCI
13.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Waste Management and Recycling
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Polymer crystallization and properties
Keywords
plastics, plastic waste, plastic pollution, plastic debris, wildlife impacts, human health, plastic production, plastic waste disposal, environmental consequences, waste management, policy priorities
MeSH terms
Environment, Environmental Pollutants, Plastics, Public Policy, Waste Management, History, 20th Century

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review