This week, 180 UN member states are meeting in Geneva to negotiate a global treaty on plastic pollution.

Plastic production has increased exponentially in the last century, rising from 2 million tons in 1950 to 460 million tonnes in 2019. Plastics are everywhere – in nature and in humans, and they have been linked to health problems such as fertility issues, heart disease, cancer and miscarriages.

At all stages of the plastic lifecycle, plastics harm human and planetary health. Plastic pollution disproportionately affects marginalised communities, Indigenous Peoples, and those living near plastic production and waste sites.

13,000 chemicals have been associated with plastics, but only 7,000 of these chemicals have enough data available to determine their impacts on health or the environment. Approximately half of these 7,000 have one or more hazardous properties of concern. Global action is urgently needed to address the crisis.

In March 2022, the UN Environment Assembly resolved unanimously to develop the Global Plastics Treaty – an internationally binding instrument on plastic pollution. This round of talks is expected the be the last. CHEM Trust has covered previous stages of the treaty, such as the first draft published in 2023, and the fourth round of talks in April 2024.

The current draft text from the Chair, written in December 2024, will be the basis for the negotiations. There are important commitments in the text which, if realised, could mean big things for tackling plastic pollution. These include reducing plastic production, bans on plastic products and chemicals harmful to humans and wildlife, as well as a section on human health.

However, some are worried that the negotiations may see these sections, particularly those on protecting human health, watered down or scrapped entirely due to pressure from countries with economic incentives to continue plastic production.

IPEN (International Pollutants Elimination Network) has also released a ‘scorecard’ evaluating the current draft text, finding that it does not go far enough in safeguarding health from toxic chemicals in plastics.

In July, CHEM Trust, alongside 600+ civil society organisations, launched a manifesto led by Break Free From Plastic, calling for a strong plastics treaty. We have been a member of the Break Free From Plastic movement since 2016, which brings together individuals and organisations globally to work to stop plastic pollution.

CHEM Trust has been campaigning for restrictions on hazardous chemicals in plastics, particularly bisphenols and phthalates, for many years. CHEM Trust supports a Global Plastics Treaty with robust and comprehensive measures to address harmful chemicals at all stages of a plastic’s lifecycle.

For more information on chemicals of concern in plastics, see our plastics webpage.

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