Plastic pollution: the pressing case for natural and environmentally friendly substitutes to plastics

As the world looks for solutions to address climate change amid growing concerns regarding negative environmental impacts caused by human habits, the problem of plastics is gaining momentum. There is a sober awareness that pollution caused by plastics needs a more aggressive approach while designing policies to prevent future plastic dependency and mismanagement. Nevertheless, plastics are here to stay as they provide some important functions for today's societal needs. Therefore, plastic substitutes are not a solution to be implemented overnight without a carefully designed and informed set of policies, as well as a system that would incentivise such substitution and prevent any further potential harm to the environment and human health. For plastic substitutes to become a viable solution in the mid and long-term, decisive global action is needed today. Moving away from silo policies and towards coherence and coordination between measures to address plastic pollution across the plastic life cycle and in favor of circular economies is an important initial step