Former epa administrator warns plastic pollution crisis demands immediate government action to protect human health

Former EPA Regional Administrator Judith Enck is sounding the alarm about plastic pollution’s devastating impact on both human health and the environment, calling for urgent government intervention to address what she describes as a crisis that can no longer be ignored. Enck, who was appointed by President Barack Obama and now leads the organization Beyond Plastics, recently appeared on Mongabay’s podcast to discuss policy solutions outlined in her new book “The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late.”

The scope of plastic contamination has reached alarming levels, with microplastics—tiny particles that break down from larger plastic waste—now detected throughout the human body, including in brain tissue, breast milk, and reproductive organs. These microscopic pollutants have infiltrated every corner of Earth, from the deepest ocean trenches to near Mount Everest’s summit, while leaching thousands of potentially toxic chemicals into vital human organs after crossing the blood-brain barrier.

“We now have all of this evidence. We have no choice but to act,” Enck emphasized, questioning who would allow the ocean to become “a watery landfill” while studies continue revealing microplastics’ presence in critical human tissues. The contamination extends beyond human health concerns, threatening marine ecosystems by impacting phytoplankton—microscopic organisms essential for ocean food chains, carbon storage, and oxygen production. Enck argues that with mounting scientific evidence of plastic pollution’s far-reaching consequences, immediate policy action has become an environmental and public health imperative that governments can no longer delay.