Critical review of global plastics stock and flow data

The production, consumption, and waste of plastics have been rapidly growing worldwide in the last decades. A variety data are needed to characterize stocks flows across space, time, life cycle derive insights for developing strategies address various sustainability challenges from waste. Here we review sources on identify gaps research needs. We categorize reviewed by stages including material semi?manufacturing, manufacturing, additives, in?use stock, end?of?life, treatment, trade. four these existing characterizing flows, inconsistent classification, missing data, conflicting inexplicit products These represent critical needs common platform sharing, standard methods reconciliation estimation, consistent collection reporting, new approaches curation. This establishes state?of?the?art stock flow develops a roadmap high?quality, comprehensive characterization develop management waste, pollution.