Global Deal On Plastic Pollution Falls Apart

The millions of tons of plastics, microplastics, and nanoplastics dumped into the environment over the last several decades have cascaded into one of the worst climate catastrophes in history. The international body tasked with addressing the problem has made no real progress in the last two years. 

According to Inside Climate News, “To manage the rapidly accelerating plastic crisis, 175 countries adopted a United Nations resolution in 2022 to end plastic pollution through an international legally binding treaty.” They began two years of talks, which included five meetings. The discussions did not yield an agreement, but did come up with some initial language to move in that direction. 

Human Health Danger

A new set of talks will start in Geneva next month.

The NIH recently published a paper entitled “Negotiating the plastics treaty to protect health and the environment.” Plastics have over 16,000 chemicals, most of which come from oil and gas. Plastic production is expected to triple by 2060. That will make the danger from its presence in the environment much worse. Both production and disposal create dangers to the environment. 

Plastics are part of a larger problem. The WHO estimates that environmental factors, such as chemical exposure, pollution, and waste, contribute to approximately one quarter of global deaths. The problem is particularly acute in low-income nations.

Micro and nano-plastics enter the human body and are thought to be a danger to human health. Unfortunately, efforts to lower plastics production haven’t been successful.

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