RESOURCES


PLASTICS, ART, SOCIAL SCIENCE

Boetzkes, Amanda. Plastic Capitalism: Contemporary Art and the Drive to Waste. MIT Press, 2019.

Boetzkes, Amanda and Andrew Pendakis. Visions of Eternity: Plastic and Ontology of Oil. E-Flux Journal, 2015.

Cobb, Allison. Plastic: An Autobiography, Nightboat Books, 2021.

Corcoran, Patricia and Kelly Jazvac. The consequence that is plastiglomerate. Nature Reviews: Earth and Environment, 1(1), 2020.

De Loughry, Treasa. Polymeric chains and petrolic imaginaries: world literature, plastic, and negative value. Green Letters, 23(2), 179-193, 2019.

Davis, Heather. Plastic Matter. Duke University Press, 2022.

Davis, Heather. Imperceptibility and Accumulation: Political Strategies of Plastic. Camera Obscura, 2016.

Davis, Heather. Plastic: Accumulation without Metabolism. Placing the Golden Spike, Milwaukee: INOVA, 2015.

Gabrys, Jennifer, Gay Hawkins, and Mike Michael. Accumulation: The Material Politics of Plastic. Abringden Oxen: Routledge, 2013.

Ghosh, Ranjan. The Plastic Turn, 2022

Huang, Michelle. Ecologies of entanglement in the great pacific garbage patch.  Journal of Asian American Studies, 20(1), 95-117.

Irr, Caren(ed.). Life in Plastic: Artistic Responses to Petromodernity, University of Minnesota Press, 2021

Jazvac, Kelly (Interview). Plastiglomerate, the Anthropocene’s New Stone. Hyperallergic, 2015.

Kane, Carolyn L. “Plastic Shine: From Prosaic Miracle to Retrograde Sublime.” Politics of Shine in Supercommunity E-Flux Journal 

Lepawsky, Josh and Max Liboiron. Why Discards, Diverse Economies, and Degrowth? Society & Space Open Forum

Liboiron, Max. Pollution is Colonialism. Duke University Press, 2021.

Liboiron, Max. How plastic is a function of colonialism.Teen Vogue, 2018.

Mah, Alice. Plastic Unlimited. Duke UP, 2022
Mah, A.  Petrochemical Planet: Multiscalar Battles of Industrial TransformationLink opens in a new window, Duke University Press. Open access, 2023.

Murphy, Michelle. Alterlife and decolonial chemical relations. Cultural Anthropology, 32(4), 494-503, 2017.

Robertson, Kirsty. Plastiglomerate. E-Flux Journal, 2016.

Robertson, Kirsty. Kelly Jazvac: Plastiglomerates. Durable Good, 2017.

Robertson, Kirsty. Crude Culture: Canada and Creative Industries. Fuse Magazine 34.2, Spring, 2008, 12-21.

Shadaan, Reena. & Michelle Murphy EDC’s as industrial chemicals and settler colonial structures: Towards a decolonial feminist approach. Catalyst: Feminism, Theory, Technoscience, 6(1), 2019.

Wood, Kelly. The Great Lakes: Accumulations. Photography and Culture, 12(1), 125-131, 2019.

FILMS AND DOCUMENTARIES

The Story of Plastic. Directed by Deia Schlosberg. 2019.

Dirty Money. Episode 12 “Point Comfort” Directed by Margaret Brown. Netflix.  

Plastic China. Directed by Jiuliang Wang. 2016.

Plastic Bag. By Bahrani, Written by Ramin, and Jennie Jenkins. Directed by Ramin Bahrani. Performed by Werner Herzog. 2009.

Human Planet: How the Earth Made Us. Directed by Matthew Dyas. Performed by Iain Stewart. 2010.

Plastic Oceans. Directed by Craig Leeson. 2011.

Tough Truth about Plastic Pollution. Performed by Dianna Cohen. Ted Talk. October 2010.

Waste Land. Directed by Lucy Walker, Karen Harley and Joao Jardim. Performed by Vik Muniz. January 21, 2011.

PLASTIC POLLUTION IN FRESHWATER AND MARINE ENVIRONMENTS

Arturo, I.A. and Corcoran, P.L., accepted February 21, 2022. Categorization of plastic debris on sixty-six beaches of the Laurentian Great Lakes, North America. Environmental Research Letters, ERL-112105.

Ballent, A., Corcoran, P. L., Madden, O., Helm, P. A., & Longstaffe, F. J. (2016). Sources and sinks of microplastics in Canadian Lake Ontario nearshore, tributary and beach sediments. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 110(1), 383–395.

Belontz, S.L. and Corcoran, P.L., 2021. Prioritizing Suitable Quality Assurance and Control Standards to Reduce Laboratory Airborne Microfibre Contamination in Sediment Samples. Environments, 8:89; https://doi.org/10.3390/environments8090089.

Biesinger, M.C., Corcoran, P.L., and Walzak, M.J. (2010). The degradation of plastic on marine and lacustrine beaches. Surface and Interface Analysis, 43, 443-445.

Blickley, L. C., Currie, J. J., & Kaufman, G. D. (2016). Trends and drivers of debris accumulation on Maui shorelines: Implications for local mitigation strategies. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 105(1), 292–298.

Carson, H. S., Colbert, S. L., Kaylor, M. J., & McDermid, K. J. (2011). Small plastic debris changes water movement and heat transfer through beach sediments. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 62(8), 1708–1713.

Corcoran, P.L., 2021. Degradation of microplastics in the environment. Rocha-Santos, T., Costa, M. Mouneyrac, C. (Eds.), Handbook of Microplastics in the Environment. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10618-8_10-1

Corcoran, P. L. (2015). Benthic plastic debris in marine and fresh water environments. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, 17(8), 1363–1369.

Corcoran, P.L., Norris, T., Ceccanese, T., Walzak, M.J., Helm, P.A., Marvin C.H.(2015). Hidden plastics of Lake Ontario, Canada and their potential preservation in the sediment record. Environmental Pollution, 204, 17-25.

Corcoran, P.L., Biesinger, M.C., and Grifi, M. (2009). Plastics and beaches: a degrading relationship. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 58, 80-84.

Cooper, D. A., & Corcoran, P. L. (2010). Effects of mechanical and chemical processes on the degradation of plastic beach debris on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60(5), 650–654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.12.026

Dris, R., Imhof, H., Sanchez, W., Gasperi, J., Galgani, F., Tassin, B., & Laforsch, C. (2015). Beyond the ocean: Contamination of freshwater ecosystems with (micro-)plastic particles. Environmental Chemistry, 12(5), 539–550. https://doi.org/10.1071/EN14172

Dris, R., Gasperi, J., Rocher, V., Saad, M., Renault, N., & Tassin, B. (2015). Microplastic contamination in an urban area: A case study in Greater Paris. Environmental Chemistry, 12(5), 592–599. https://doi.org/10.1071/EN14167

Eerkes-Medrano, D., Thompson, R. C., & Aldridge, D. C. (2015). Microplastics in freshwater systems: A review of the emerging threats, identification of knowledge gaps and prioritisation of research needs. Water Research, 75, 63–82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2015.02.012

Goldberg, E. D. (1997). Plasticizing the Seafloor: An Overview. Environmental Technology18(2), 195–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593331808616527

Kunz, A., Walther, B. A., L??wemark, L., & Lee, Y. C. (2016). Distribution and quantity of microplastic on sandy beaches along the northern coast of Taiwan. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 111(1–2), 126–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.07.022

Kusui, T., & Noda, M. (2003). International survey on the distribution of stranded and buried litter on beaches along the Sea of Japan. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 47(1–6), 175–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(02)00478-2

Lee, J., Hong, S., Song, Y. K., Hong, S. H., Jang, Y. C., Jang, M., … Shim, W. J. (2013). Relationships among the abundances of plastic debris in different size classes on beaches in South Korea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 77(1–2), 349–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.08.013

Mason, S. A., Kammin, L., Eriksen, M., Aleid, G., Wilson, S., Box, C., … Riley, A. (2016). Pelagic plastic pollution within the surface waters of Lake Michigan, USA. Journal of Great Lakes Research42(4), 753–759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2016.05.009

Mathalon, A., & Hill, P. (2014). Microplastic fibers in the intertidal ecosystem surrounding Halifax Harbor, Nova Scotia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 81(1), 69–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.02.018

McCormick, A., Hoellein, T. J., Mason, S. A., Schluep, J., & Kelly, J. J. (2014). Microplastic is an abundant and distinct microbial habitat in an urban river. Environmental Science and Technology, 48(20), 11863–11871. https://doi.org/10.1021/es503610r

Morét-Ferguson, S., Law, K. L., Proskurowski, G., Murphy, E. K., Peacock, E. E., & Reddy, C. M. (2010). The size, mass, and composition of plastic debris in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60(10), 1873–1878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.07.020

Moreira, F. T., Balthazar-Silva, D., Barbosa, L., & Turra, A. (2016). Revealing accumulation zones of plastic pellets in sandy beaches. Environmental Pollution, 218, 313–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.07.006

Naji, A., Esmaili, Z., & Khan, F. R. (2016). Plastic debris and microplastics along the beaches of the Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 114(2), 1057–1062. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.11.032

Retama, I., Jonathan, M. P., Shruti, V. C., Velumani, S., Sarkar, S. K., Roy, P. D., & Rodriguez-Espinosa, P. F. (2016). Microplastics in tourist beaches of Huatulco Bay, Pacific coast of southern Mexico. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 113(1–2), 530–535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.08.053

Ribic, C. A., Sheavly, S. B., Rugg, D. J., & Erdmann, E. S. (2012). Trends in marine debris along the U.S. Pacific Coast and Hawai’i 1998-2007. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 64(5), 994–1004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.02.008

Qiu, Q., Peng, J., Yu, X., Chen, F., Wang, J., & Dong, F. (2015). Occurrence of microplastics in the coastal marine environment: First observation on sediment of China. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 98(1–2), 274–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.07.028

Van, A., Rochman, C. M., Flores, E. M., Hill, K. L., Vargas, E., Vargas, S. A., & Hoh, E. (2012). Persistent organic pollutants in plastic marine debris found on beaches in San Diego, California. Chemosphere, 86(3), 258–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.09.039

Zbyszewski, M., Corcoran, P. L., & Hockin, A. (2014). Comparison of the distribution and degradation of plastic debris along shorelines of the great lakes, north america. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 40(2), 288-299. https://doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2014.02.012

Zhang, K., Su, J., Xiong, X., Wu, X., Wu, C., & Liu, J. (2016). Microplastic pollution of lakeshore sediments from remote lakes in Tibet plateau, China. Environmental Pollution, 219, 450–455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.05.048

Zbyszewski, M., Corcoran P.L., Hockin, A. (2014). Comparison of the distribution and degradation of plastic debris along shorelines of the Great Lakes, North America. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 40, 288-299.

Zbyszewski, M. and Corcoran, P.L., 2011. Distribution and degradation of fresh water plastic particles along the beaches of Lake Huron, Canada. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 220: 365-372.

PLASTIC POLLUTION IN WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND LANDFILL

Michielssen, M. R., Michielssen, E. R., Ni, J., & Duhaime, M. B. (2016). Fate of microplastics and other small anthropogenic litter (SAL) in wastewater treatment plants depends on unit processes employed. Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2(6), 1064–1073. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EW00207B

Saquing, J. M., Saquing, C. D., Knappe, D. R. U., & Barlaz, M. A. (2010). Impact of plastics on fate and transport of organic contaminants in landfills. Environmental Science and Technology, 44(16), 6396–6402. https://doi.org/10.1021/es101251p

Talvitie, J., & Heinonen, M. (2014). Preliminary study on synthetic microfibers and particles at a municipal waste water treatment plant. Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission HELCOM, 14 p.

Xie, M. L., Aldenkortt, D., Wagner, J. F., & Rettenberger, G. (2006). Effect of plastic fragments on hydraulic characteristics of pretreated municipal solid waste. Canadian Geotechnical Journal, 43(12), 1333–1343. https://doi.org/10.1139/t06-070

PLASTICS & ORGANISMS

Anastasopoulou, A., Mytilineou, C., Smith, C. J., & Papadopoulou, K. N. (2013). Plastic debris ingested by deep-water fish of the Ionian Sea (Eastern Mediterranean). Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 74, 11–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2012.12.00

Barnes, D. K. A. (2002). Biodiversity: Invasions by marine life on plastic debris. Nature, 416(6883), 808–809. https://doi.org/10.1038/416808a

Barnes, D. K. A., & Milner, P. (2005). Drifting plastic and its consequences for sessile organism dispersal in the Atlantic Ocean. Marine Biology, 146(4), 815–825. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1474-8

Frias, J. P. G. L., Otero, V., & Sobral, P. (2014). Evidence of microplastics in samples of zooplankton from Portuguese coastal waters. Marine Environmental Research, 95(November), 89–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2014.01.001

Gall, S. C., & Thompson, R. C. (2015). The impact of debris on marine life. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 92(1–2), 170–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.12.041

Gregory, M. R. (2009). Environmental implications of plastic debris in marine settings–entanglement, ingestion, smothering, hangers-on, hitch-hiking and alien invasions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 2013–2025. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0265

Koelmans, A. A., Besseling, E., & Foekema, E. M. (2014). Leaching of plastic additives to marine organisms. Environmental Pollution, 187, 49–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.12.013

Lavers, J. L., Bond, A. L., & Hutton, I. (2014). Plastic ingestion by flesh-footed shearwaters (Puffinus carneipes): Implications for fledgling body condition and the accumulation of plastic-derived chemicals. Environmental Pollution, 187, 124–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2013.12.020

Liboiron, M., Liboiron, F., Wells, E., Richárd, N., Zahara, A., Mather, C., … Murichi, J. (2016). Low plastic ingestion rate in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from Newfoundland destined for human consumption collected through citizen science methods. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 113(1–2), 428–437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.10.043

Oehlmann, J., Schulte-Oehlmann, U., Kloas, W., Jagnytsch, O., Lutz, I., Kusk, K. O., … Tyler, C. R. (2009). A critical analysis of the biological impacts of plasticizers on wildlife. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 2047–2062. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0242

Possatto, F., Barletta, M., Costa, M., Ivar do Sul, J., & Dantas, D. (2011). Plastic debris ingestion by marine catfish: An unexpected fisheries impact. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 62, 1098- 1102.

Prata, J.C., da Costa, J.P., Lopes, I., Duarte, A,C,m %Rocha-Satos T (2020). Environmental exposure to microplastics: An overview on possible health effects. Science of the Total Environment 792 134455.

Rochman, C. M., Lewison, R. L., Eriksen, M., Allen, H., Cook, A. M., & Teh, S. J. (2014). Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in fish tissue may be an indicator of plastic contamination in marine habitats. Science of the Total Environment, 476477, 622–633. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.01.058

Ryan, P. G. (2008). Seabirds indicate changes in the composition of plastic litter in the Atlantic and south-western Indian Oceans. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 56(8), 1406–1409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2008.05.004

PLASTICS & TOXICITY

Cole, M., Lindeque, P., Halsband, C., & Galloway, T. S. (2011). Microplastics as contaminants in the marine environment: A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 62(12), 2588–2597. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2011.09.025

Engler, R. E. (2012). The complex interaction between marine debris and toxic chemicals in the ocean. Environmental Science and Technology, 46(22), 12302–12315. https://doi.org/10.1021/es3027105

Gouin, T., Roche, N., Lohmann, R., & Hodges, G. (2011). A Thermodynamic Approach for Assessing the Environmental Exposure of Chemicals Absorbed to Microplastic. Environmental Science & Technology, 45(4), 1466–1472. https://doi.org/10.1021/es1032025

Mansilha, C., Silva, P., Rocha, S., Gameiro, P., Domingues, V., Pinho, C., & Ferreira, I. M. P. L. V. O. (2013). Bisphenol A migration from plastic materials: Direct insight of ecotoxicity in Daphnia magna. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 20(9), 6007–6018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1614-0

Rochman, C. M., Hoh, E., Kurobe, T., & Teh, S. J. (2013). Ingested plastic transfers hazardous chemicals to fish and induces hepatic stress. Scientific Reports, 3, 3263. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep03263

Teuten, E. L., Saquing, J. M., Knappe, D. R. U., Barlaz, M. A., Jonsson, S., Björn, A., … Takada, H. (2009). Transport and release of chemicals from plastics to the environment and to wildlife. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences, 364(1526), 2027–45. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2008.0284

Zarfl, C., & Matthies, M. (2010). Are marine plastic particles transport vectors for organic pollutants to the Arctic? Marine Pollution Bulletin, 60(10), 1810–1814. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.05.026

Zhang, X., Chang, H., Wiseman, S., He, Y., Higley, E., Jones, P., … Hecker, M. (2011). Bisphenol a disrupts steroidogenesis in human H295R cells. Toxicological Sciences121(2), 320–327. https://doi.org/10.1093/toxsci/kfr061

Zhang, W., Ma, X., Zhang, Z., Wang, Y., Wang, J., Wang, J., & Ma, D. (2015). Persistent organic pollutants carried on plastic resin pellets from two beaches in China. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 99(1–2), 28–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.08.002

PLASTIC FUTURES

Allison, A. L., Ambrose-Dempster, E., T Aparsi, D., Bawn, M., Casas Arredondo, M., Chau, C., Chandler, K., Dobrijevic, D., Hailes, H., Lettieri, P. & Liu, C. (2020). The environmental dangers of employing single-use face masks as part of a COVID-19 exit strategy. UCL Press. 

Borrelle, S. B., Rochman, C. M., Liboiron, M., Bond, A. L., Lusher, A., Bradshaw, H., & Provencher, J. F. (2017). Opinion: Why we need an international agreement on marine plastic pollution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(38), 9994-9997

Davis, Heather. Toxic progeny: The plastisphere and other queer futures. PhiloSOPHIA, 5(2), 231-250, 2019.

Directions, N. (2005). New Directions in Plastic Debris. Science, (November), 1117–1119. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.310.5751.1117b

Eagle, L., Hamann, M., & Low, D. R. (2015). The role of social marketing, marine turtles and sustainable tourism in reducing plastic pollution. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 107(1), 324–332.

Schlanger, Z. (2020). A New Plastic Wave is Coming to Our Shores. Audubon Magazine

Thompson, R. C., Moore, C. J., Vom Saal, F. S., & Swan, S. H. (2009). Plastics, the environment and human health: current consensus and future trends. Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B, 364(2009), 2153–2166.

Zalasiewicz, J., Waters, C. N., Ivar do Sul, J. A., Corcoran, P. L., Barnosky, A. D., Cearreta, A., … Yonan, Y. (2016). The geological cycle of plastics and their use as a stratigraphic indicator of the Anthropocene. Anthropocene, 13, 4–17.

COLLECTIVE ACTION

5 Gyres Project

Algalita Marine Research Foundation

A Citizen’s Guide to Plastic Pollution

Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research (CLEAR)

Endocrine Disruptors Action Group

Lake Ontario Waterkeeper

Plastic Pollution Coalition

Pollution Probe

International Pellet Watch