ReviewChemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996)2021
Increased plastic pollution due to COVID-19 pandemic: Challenges and recommendations.
Review in Chemical engineering journal (Lausanne, Switzerland : 1996), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 229 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
229 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review of the effects of nanoplastics on fish.Frontiers in toxicology · 2025Pooled it
- Masks and respirators for prevention of respiratory infections: a state of the science review.Clinical microbiology reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Predictive modeling of medical waste and a proposal to improve segregation in a peruvian hospital.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Closing the Loop on Personal Protective Equipment: Collection, Polymer Recovery, and Circular Pathways for Post-Consumer PPE.Polymers · 2026Review
- Spatial and neighborhood data in the collaborative cohort of cohorts for COVID-19 Research (C4R).PloS one · 2026Observational
- Co-Contamination and Combined Effects of Microplastic and Microbial Load on Water Quality and Public Health Risks in Industrial and Urban Canals of Coastal Bangladesh.Environmental health insights · 2026Article
- Characterization of Asphalt Binder Properties Modified with One-Time Use Masks: Zero Shear Viscosity, Fatigue Life, and Low-Temperature Performance.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Trends and Shifts in Swedish Telemedicine Consultations During the Pre-COVID-19, COVID-19, and Post-COVID-19 Periods: Retrospective Observational Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Observational
- Responses of natural plastisphere community and zooplankton to microplastic pollution: a review on novel remediation strategies.Archives of microbiology · 2025Review
- Gelatin/mushroom (Journal of food science and technology · 2025Article
- Article
- Brewers' Spent Grain-Derived Arabinoxylan as a Sustainable Filler for Enhanced PHBV Biocomposites.Polymers · 2025Article
- Current Trends, Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Microplastics Research and Global Public Health: A Scientometric Study.Health science reports · 2025Article
- Microplastics as an Emerging Potential Threat: Toxicity, Life Cycle Assessment, and Management.Toxics · 2024Review
- Bio-based polylactic acid labware as a sustainable alternative for microbial cultivation in life science laboratories.Heliyon · 2024Article
- Microbiological and Physicochemical Approach in the Feeding of Superworm (Microorganisms · 2024Article
- Understanding of environmental pollution and its anthropogenic impacts on biological resources during the COVID-19 period.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2024Review
- Global impact of COVID-19 on food safety and environmental sustainability: Pathways to face the pandemic crisis.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Biodegradation of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by Brucella intermedia IITR130 and its proposed metabolic pathway.Biodegradation · 2024Article
169 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Plastics have become a severe transboundary threat to natural ecosystems and human health, with studies predicting a twofold increase in the number of plastic debris (including micro and nano-sized plastics) by 2030. However, such predictions will likely be aggravated by the excessive use and consumption of single-use plastics (including personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves) due to COVID-19 pandemic. This review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview on the effects of COVID-19 on macroplastic pollution and its potential implications on the environment and human health considering short- and long-term scenarios; addressing the main challenges and discussing potential strategies to overcome them. It emphasises that future measures, involved in an emergent health crisis or not, should reflect a balance between public health and environmental safety as they are both undoubtedly connected. Although the use and consumption of plastics significantly improved our quality of life, it is crucial to shift towards sustainable alternatives, such as bio-based plastics. Plastics should remain in the top of the political agenda in Europe and across the world, not only to minimise plastic leakage and pollution, but to promote sustainable growth and to stimulate both green and blue- economies. Discussions on this topic, particularly considering the excessive use of plastic, should start soon with the involvement of the scientific community, plastic producers and politicians in order to be prepared for the near future.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.