Enabling a circular economy for chemicals in plastics

Enabling a circular economy for plastics in Europe and beyond is an ambitious goal. To reach a fully closed loop,

numerous challenges and knowledge gaps need to be overcome. This review provides a list of more than 6000 chemicals reported

to be found in plastics and an overview of the challenges and gaps in assessing their impacts on the environment and human

health along the life cycle of plastic products. We further identified 1518 plastic-related chemicals of concern, which

should be prioritized for substitution by safer alternatives. At last, we propose five policy recommendations, including the

need of a global and overarching regulatory framework for plastics and re