Can a Legally Binding Treaty Fix the World’s Plastic Problem?
Plastic is everywhere — from the ocean to the human body — and production of it is set to triple by 2060. On this week’s Zero: A UN treaty could be the answer.
Plastic bottles at a dumping ground in Haryana, India.
Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/BloombergPlastic is literally everywhere: It shows up in the ocean, in our communities, even in the human body. And because plastics can break down into microplastics — and even nanoplastics — it easily reaches every corner of the world. Today, over 430 million tons of plastic are produced every year, an amount that’s expected to triple to roughly 1.2 billion tons by 2060, according to the OECD. That haul could contribute almost 4 billion tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere at a time when countries and companies are meant to be focused on reducing emissions and reaching net zero.
The plastic problem is so prevalent, and so acute, that the United Nations’s Environment Program aims to tackle it with a new treaty that calls for a reduction in plastic production and an increase in recycling. The treaty has been submitted for negotiations and, if all goes right, could become a legally binding contract by next year — a relatively speedy process for global environmental deal-making.