Production

The report highlights four categories of regenerative materials that are promising replacements for conventional fossil fuel–based plastics: agricultural residues and byproducts, hemp and other bast fibers, mycelium, and seaweed. It concludes with a link to a landing page of innovators using these biomass feedstocks to create and scale next-generation materials to replace plastic. 

This study examines microplastic contamination in cigarette tobacco across global markets. It analyzed 88 cigarette packs collected from 18 countries and found that microplastics were present in the vast majority of samples. The identified polymers (e.g., PE, PP, PET) are commonly associated with packaging and industrial processes, indicating that tobacco products themselves may act as an unrecognized source of plastics exposure.

This scoping report highlights the vast scale of microplastic exposure in daily life. The author's research on over 350 peer-reviewed studies shows that human exposure is continuous and global. Microplastic releases of 60 different polymer types were reported across five major categories: food, indoors, outdoors, children’s products and personal care/healthcare.

Plastic production and pollution have a negative effect on the environment and climate change. Using detailed global and regional datasets coupled with socioeconomic data, machine learning was employed to predict that annual mismanaged plastic waste will nearly double by 2050. Annual GHG emissions from plastic are projected to grow by 37%. Four simulated treaty policies could reduce mismanaged plastic waste by 91% and GHG emissions by one-third.

Thee 2025 Brand Audit report reveals the ‘Dirty Dozen’ - the 12 most polluting household brands in the UK and their parent companies. Coca-Cola topped the leaderboard for the fifth-year running, closely followed by McDonalds and Cadbury. The other top brands included: Red Bull, Walkers, Monster, Lucozade, Pepsi, Stella Artois, Haribo and Mars. And theUK’s largest supermarket, Tesco has made it into the Dirty Dozen for the fifth-year running. 

Business journalist Saabira Chaudhuri explores the corporation's massive lobbying effort in the EU to exempt a 'reuse for dine in' requirement in the landmark Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation and draws parallels between the tactics McDonald's used in EU and its efforts to thwart the foam ban in the 1980s in the US which was ultimately successful. 

Greenpeace International’s analysis of 24 research papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals found that the plastics we use to package our food are exposing us to health risks – and none more so than heated ready meals and takeaways. Regulators and the industry are failing to act on the problem, which is already causing a global waste crisis, yet the production of plastic is set to more than double by 2050 from current levels.

Plastic production remains the most resource-intensive area of petrochemicals. This puts a serious strain on the economy and the environment, and indirectly finances military conflicts, including Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Thus, the modern global energy system is at a turning point.