The gross domestic product (GDP) of Papua New Guinea (PNG) grew at an annual average rate of nearly 7% between 2007 and 2010, and is expected to perform even better in 2011. Moreover, the economy remained unaffected even at the peak of the global economic crisis, when most other major Southeast Asian and Pacific economies recorded low or negative GDP growth rates. Sound macroeconomic management in the recent past and planned initiatives such as the PNG LNG Project indicate that the economy will continue to perform well in the medium to long run. Nevertheless, the country faces a number of development challenges. Per capita GDP and its growth rate remain low. The economy is heavily dependent on the mining and resource sectors, and hence remains vulnerable to fluctuations in the global markets. A majority of the people in the labor force work in the informal sector, and opportunities for productive employment in the formal sector continue to grow very slowly. Provision of public services, including education, health, and safe drinking water and sanitation, remains inadequate, especially in the rural areas.

Microplastics (MPs), plastic particles smaller than 5 mm, are now a growing environmental and public health issue, as they are detected pervasively in freshwater and marine environments, ingested by organisms, and then enter the human body. Industrial development drives this environmental burden caused by MP formation and human uptake by elevating plastic pollution levels and shaping the domestic dietary structure. We map the MP human uptake across 109 global countries on five continents from 1990 to 2018, focusing on the world’s major coastlines that are affected by plastic pollution that affects the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Amid rapid industrial growth, Indonesia tops the global per capita MP dietary intake at 15 g monthly. In Asian, African, and American countries, including China and the United States, airborne and dietary MP uptake increased over 6-fold from 1990 to 2018. Eradicating 90% of global aquatic plastic debris can help decrease MP uptake by more than 48% in Southeast Asian countries that peak MP uptake. To reduce MP uptake and potential public health risks, governments in developing and industrialized countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, and North and South America should incentivize the removal of free plastic debris from freshwater and saltwater environments through advanced water treatment and effective solid waste management practices.