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Plastic Pollution

Pollution is the most visible problem of the plastic crisis. Whether in rivers, on land, or in the ocean, enormous amounts of plastic waste are already polluting the entire planet.

Plastic waste polluting the environment

Book cover: Living in the Plastic Age

Living in the Plastic Age: Perspectives from Humanities, Social Sciences and Environmental Sciences (2023)

The notion of Plastic Age implies that a material and its materiality with all its relations it engages enables a new way of living. Plastics materialize through practices and technological configurations, are symbolically loaded, and enable new economic, technological, natural, and societal relations all atonce.

Cover of EU-wide end-of-waste criteria for plastic waste

EU-wide end-of-waste criteria for plastic waste (2024)

The absence of a consistent legal framework on end-of-waste for certain waste streams creates uncertainty for waste operators and for entities trading and using secondary raw materials. The implementation of EU-wide end-of-waste criteria can address these disparities in the value chain, ultimately increasing the uptake of high-quality secondary raw materials in manufacturing processes.

Illustration showcasing the concealed plastic problem in a building, drawing attention to environmental impact and awareness.

Buildings' Hidden Plastic Problem (2024)

This policy brief presents highlights from the significant body of science indicating that plastic building materials contribute to serious health and environmental harms over their life cycle, from fossil fuel extraction to production, use, and disposal.

A man wearing a safety mask and protective glasses, ensuring safety while working in a hazardous environment.

Plastics pollution exacerbates the impacts of all planetary boundaries (2024)

Through a review of the scientific literature on the environmental impacts of plastics, the research team shows that plastic pollution is now altering some major processes at the scale of the entire Earth system. This impact extends to global issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, ocean acidification, and the use of freshwater and land.

Cover "Plastic forever"

Plastic Forever (2023)

This report looks behind the scenes of corporate strategies to keep on polluting and urges companies to deplastify now. Thisrequires transitioning from plastics (particularly linear / singleuse plastics) to sustainable alternative materials and systems ofconsumption, such as reuse and refill.

Cover "Exploring Plastic Credit Schemes: Scope, risks and uncertainties"

Exploring Plastic Credit Schemes: Scope, risks and uncertainties (2024)

Are plastic credits a solution to the global plastic pollution crisis? The report provides a critical and impartial examination of the most prominent credit-issuing schemes and examines current practices with regard to governance structures, financial flows and what happens to the plastic waste collected in return for credits, and analyses environmental and social concerns.

Cover "Beneath the surface – Do ESG ratings capture the risks and impacts of plastics?"

Facing Finance (2024)

The study aims to provide insight into the extent to which the environmental and social impacts of single-use plastics are integrated into ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) ratings, as well as the level of transparency exhibited by ESG rating providers.

Cover "Why a Production Cap on Plastics Makes Financial Sense"

Why a Production Cap on Plastics Makes Financial Sense (2024)

This paper articulates the economic and financial basis for establishing a cap on global plastics production. The production cap, once adopted as part of the final legally binding agreement, is expected to serve as the linchpin to end plastics pollution.

Cover "Aligning the Global Plastics Treaty with <1.5°C"

Aligning the Global Plastics Treaty with <1.5°C (2024)

This report models whether a virgin plastic production reduction target of 40% by 2040 (40×40) could keep the plastics industry within a 1.5°C carbon budget. It outlines the methodology used to predict how the global economy would respond to a 40×40 target, including modeling different scenarios based on business-as-usual (BAU) demand and reduced-demand scenarios.

Video "The Plastic Problem": Woman in front of plastic litter

The Plastic Problem

The documentary looks at plastic and how it’s impacting the world and what potential alternatives or solutions are out there.

All contributions & media on Plastic Pollution

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