Integrating approaches and regulations to address plastic pollution: Spotlighting nanosized particles

This paper critically reviews current initiatives, regulatory measures, and safety standards addressing plastic pollution, highlighting developments in Europe. While numerous policies and standards are in place, their impact is often constrained by fragmented implementation across disciplines, nations, and sectors. The urgent need for focused scientific research is especially evident in the case of nanoplastics, whose distinctive physicochemical properties and interactions with other contaminants present complex challenges for risk assessment and environmental monitoring. We explore pathways toward sustainable solutions, focusing on reducing plastic footprints and embedding Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) principles into innovation and production. Data-driven Operational Research (OR) tools are presented as a means to optimize decision-making, ensuring interventions remain efficient, evidence-based, and responsive to evolving scientific insights. Equally important is the adoption of rigorous quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) protocols in hazard and fate studies, which are vital for producing reliable, reproducible data that can inform both science and policy. This policy analysis situates pollutants within a complex, interconnected system and introduces the exposome approach as a framework for evaluating cumulative environmental exposures over time. Embedding exposome science within the One Health paradigm offers a forward-looking strategy that bridges research, governance, and technology. Such integration fosters interdisciplinary collaboration and enables more effective pollution management. Ultimately, progress in addressing global plastic pollution depends less on new legislation and more on overcoming fragmented efforts through coordinated, cross-sector action guided by One Health perspectives.