PFAS and Planetary Boundaries: Global Challenges for Waste Management and Policy Solutions

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a major subgroup of the planetary-boundary category of novel entities, illustrate how highly persistent and mobile anthropogenic chemicals can drive the Earth system beyond a safe operating space. Waste management represents the weakest link in the PFAS life cycle, as landfilling sustains long-term secondary releases, suboptimal thermal treatments can re-emit or transform PFAS, and open burning generates additional emissions, with these pressures amplified in low- and middle-income countries. Against this backdrop, this Feature examines how structural weaknesses in waste management perpetuate planetary-boundary transgression and outlines governance and policy solutions to realign PFAS control with a safe operating space. Drawing on lessons from the Basel and Stockholm Conventions, we outline a governance approach centered on class-based regulation, application of the essential-use concept with time-bounded derogations, and strict enforcement of BAT/BEP for remaining uses. Accountability should be strengthened through extended producer responsibility, polluter-pays mechanisms, and product labeling and traceability, supported by equity-focused finance and technology partnerships, with progress assessed through three complementary indicators: declining production and use of nonessential PFAS; decreasing concentrations in sentinel media; and an increasing share of remediation and exposure-reduction costs borne by producers and polluters.