Tackling Plastic Production: Why and How to Do It

Tackling Plastic Production: Why and How to Do It

Author: Anja Krieger December 2, 2025 Duration: 30:52
It's the elephant in the room: The growth of plastic production and how that contributes to pollution. In this episode, we're taking a look at why it's important to not only tackle the waste plastic causes, but also the source of the issue itself. Anja discusses this with Melanie Bergmann, a marine biologist at Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research and a plastic pollution researcher for more than a decade, and Kristian Syberg, an environmental scientist and planner from Roskilde University. Both are members of the Scientists' Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty. Sources mentioned: - Cowger et al. (2024), Global producer responsibility for plastic pollution, Science Advances https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adj8275 - Borrelle et al. (2020), Predicted growth in plastic waste exceeds efforts to mitigate plastic pollution, Science https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aba3656 - Lau et al. (2020), Evaluating scenarios toward zero plastic pollution, Science https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aba9475 - Geyer et al. (2017), Production, use, and fate of all plastics ever made, Science Advances https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.1700782 - A.E. Higginson, Greater London Council (1971): The view of a local authority, in: Plastics waste in the environment. Plastics & Polymers supplement No. 4, September 1971, The Plastics Institute, London (not online, can be ordered via libraries). For a screenshot of the first pages, check out this post on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7401522510678163456?commentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Acomment%3A%28activity%3A7401522510678163456%2C7401528231109234690%29&dashCommentUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afsd_comment%3A%287401528231109234690%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7401522510678163456%29

Anja Krieger hosts Plastisphere: A podcast on plastic pollution in the environment, a series that digs into the complex story of synthetic polymers. This isn't just a catalog of environmental damage, though that reality is confronted directly. Instead, the podcast carefully examines how these materials, foundational to contemporary life, now permeate every corner of the natural world and our own bodies. Anja guides listeners through a nuanced exploration, asking whether a sustainable coexistence is even possible. She doesn't provide easy answers but facilitates necessary conversations, bringing together researchers, activists, industry insiders, and communities on the front lines. Each episode is built on specific stories and scientific insights, moving from the deep ocean to human bloodstreams to policy halls. You'll hear about the chemistry of plastics, their journey as waste, and the cultural and economic systems that perpetuate their use. The strength of this podcast lies in its commitment to presenting a genuine spectrum of perspectives, avoiding simple blame in favor of understanding a truly global dilemma. It’s a thoughtful, sometimes surprising, and always human-centered look at one of the most defining material challenges of our time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 67

Plastisphere: A podcast on plastic pollution in the environment
Podcast Episodes
How [Not] To Make A Plastics Treaty - The Mysterious Midnight Meeting [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:26
It's 2026, and we still don't have a plastics treaty. Will we get one, what kind, and when? All of that is up in the air at this point. And after the failed round of negotiations last summer in Geneva, some strange insig…
Beyond Recycling - The Many Meanings of the Circular Economy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:22
When we speak about plastic pollution, a central idea to solve it is that of the circular economy. And when this idea of circularity is mentioned, recycling is often the first thing that comes to mind. But recycling is j…
Guilt-free plastics? The idea of plastic credits and its realities [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:40
Wouldn’t it be great to have something like guilt-free plastics? A plastic product you can just buy without worrying that you are contributing to pollution in the environment? That’s the promise of plastic credits. The i…
Plastic Pollution in Turkey, from Biology to Waste Trade [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:20
In this episode we’ll travel to Turkey with Sedat Gündogdu. Sedat is a Turkish marine biologist and works as a professor at Cukurova University in Adana. When Sedat realized how much plastic trash was polluting the water…
How [Not] to Make a Plastics Treaty - What really happened in Geneva? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:25
After 11 days of talks between 180 nations in the middle of a heatwave, the final session dragged late into the night. The next morning we learned that the plastics treaty talks had - again - ended without an agreement t…