Negotiations for a global plastic pollution treaty have hit on production limits for the first time.
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Articles on Plastic pollution
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Since coining the term microplastics 20 years ago on May 7 2004, Richard Thompson reflects on the progress being made to halt plastic pollution.
But how the world will get to zero pollution is still uncertain – and production caps are untested.
Because waste pickers go through trash and leave behind everything without value, they know better than anyone which plastics should be eliminated.
The more plastic, the more waste we produce. It sounds simple, but this discovery could help us find ways of ending plastic pollution.
The treaty focuses on ending plastic pollution, not eliminating the use of plastics. But some countries are more ambitious than others.
Plastic tax would work better than a ban in Lagos, Nigeria.
Australia’s Soft Plastics Taskforce has been under pressure to fill the vacuum left by the demise of REDcycle. But this time the small trial announced for Melbourne has the potential to succeed.
The River Nile is contaminated with microplastics.
Banning single-use plastics in Nigeria is a step in the right direction. But its success will depend on provisions made for enforcement.
Recycled plastics are not safe if the chemicals used in creating them in the first place are harmful.
Your washing machine is polluting the ocean.
Five reasons to avoid glitter, even on Christmas cards or baubles.
A central question remains unresolved in the draft treaty: Is plastic pollution basically a waste management problem, or can it be solved only with a cap on production?
Media coverage of the dangers of plastic pollution can distract from what is actually needed, says an author.
Initiating a circular economy can help coastal west African countries to address plastic pollution with a World Bank fund.
United Nations efforts to advance a global treaty on plastic pollution echo past multilateral agreements that tackled ozone layer depletion and acid rain.
Bacterial DNA extracted from soil includes many genes whose function remains unknown. The novel enzymes these genes code for could be useful in efforts to clean up persistent pollutants.
Stringent measures are needed to prevent plastic pollution. But concerns about carbon leaching from plastic waste would be better aimed at emissions from producing more plastic in the first place.
Halloween is a sustainability nightmare – but it doesn’t have to be.
Top contributors
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Professor of Ocean Policy and Economy, University of Portsmouth
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Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
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Senior Principal Research Scientist, Environment, CSIRO
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Lecturer in Resource Efficiency Systems, University of Leeds
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Professor of Sustainable Development, Keele University
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Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University
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Research Chair, Indigenous Approaches to Environmental Management, Keele University
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Lead Researcher - Global Plastics Policy Centre, University of Portsmouth
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Senior Lecturer in Sustainability and the Built Environment, University of Portsmouth
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Professor of Geography and Environmental Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland
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Research Fellow in Circular Economy Systems, University of Leeds
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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PhD Student, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto
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Postdoctoral researcher CSIRO, CSIRO
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Research Professor Ecotoxicology, North-West University
