Welcome to Higginson Strategy’s weekly round-up of international news relating to plastic pollution.
This week, Duke University has found an emerging link between nanoplastics and neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and dementia. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation claims paper-based products could provide an alternative to flexible plastic packaging. New Zealand is moving closer to a regulated plastic packaging stewardship scheme as part of its national priority product stewardship framework. Researchers at Jiangsu University found that microplastics are not passive debris in soil. Finally, an estimated 30,000 people across the UK are expected to contribute to the 2026 Big Plastic Count campaign that will commence next week.
Scientists find emerging link between nanoplastics and neurodegenerative diseases
Duke University has found an emerging link between nanoplastics and neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and dementia. They suggest that certain types of nanoplastics, such as PE and PS, interact with the protein a-synuclein which promotes neuroinflammation and impair cognition.
The researchers call for urgent further research to understand how nanoplastics enter the brain and identify the most dangerous polymer types.
Read more here.
Paper could play a ‘valuable role’ in tackling plastic pollution, according to EMF report
A report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation claims paper-based products could provide an alternative to flexible plastic packaging, which has become a major source of pollution in some countries.
The study argues flexible plastic waste, including sachets and food wrappers, has become a “global problem” and in some countries it is largely collected, but typically ends up incinerated, landfilled, or exported for other nations to deal with. Instead, the report, which has been endorsed by 47 businesses, investors and academics, calls for a “common vision” to develop and scale paper-based flexible packaging alternatives.
Read more here.
Priority product rules push plastic packaging stewardship in New Zealand
New Zealand is moving closer to a regulated plastic packaging stewardship scheme as part of its national priority product stewardship framework.
The approach shifts responsibility for packaging waste from local authorities and communities to producers and importers that place packaging on the market. The designation requires the development of a mandatory product stewardship scheme and gives the government the power to regulate how the packaging is managed at end of life.
Read more here.
Microplastics are creating tiny microbial battlegrounds in farm soil
Researchers at Jiangsu University found that microplastics are not passive debris in soil. Instead, they are reshaping the land we depend on for food. Microplastics create unique micro-environments in soil called plastispheres. These are biofilm communities where microorganisms attach to plastic surfaces, forming dense, active networks.
The review argues that these plastispheres don’t just collect microbes. They can change how microbial communities behave, how nutrients move through soil, and how resilient soil is after stress.
Read more here.
Priority product rules push plastic packaging stewardship in New Zealand
An estimated 30,000 people across the UK are expected to contribute to the 2026 Big Plastic Count campaign that will commence next week.
Between March 9 and March 15, households, schools and community groups will be able to contribute to a national survey focused on understanding the country’s reliance on plastic materials in packaging. The data gathered will then be used as part of research to understand how these materials are being disposed of and managed after use.
Read more here.