Transdisciplinary pragmatic melioration for the plastic life cycle: Why the social, natural, and technical sciences should prioritize reducing harm.

Plastics underpin modern society but also threaten to choke it. Only 9 % of all plastic waste is recycled, usually with loss of quality ("downcycling"); the rest is landfilled or dumped (79 %) or incinerated (12 %). Put bluntly, the "plastic age" needs a "sustainable plastic culture.