Quantifying human health impacts throughout plastics lifecycles can inform global action against pollution that promotes sustainability across environmental, economic, and health concerns.

We combined material flow analysis, using the Plastics-to-Ocean model, with lifecycle assessment (LCA) to quantitatively compare disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) associated with plastics lifecycles, under different global consumption and waste management scenarios between 2016 and 2040. We estimated global health effects of greenhouse gases, particulate matter, and specific chemical emissions associated with plastics commonly found in municipal solid waste (approximately 64% of global plastics production), from their production, transportation, recycling, end-of-life fates, and those associated with illustrative alternative single-use materials and glass reuse systems. Direct health effects of exposure to chemicals during product use and microplastics and nanoplastics pollution were not included due to the absence of available inventory data. We conducted the LCA using Ecoinvent version 3.8 and 3.10 (cutoff) data and ReCiPe 2016 impact assessment method, updated with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2021 global warming characterisation factors.