By Faridat Salifu
Countries have resumed negotiations in Geneva this week to develop a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution, as health and environmental concerns escalate.
The talks are part of a United Nations-led process launched in 2022, following a landmark agreement by over 170 countries to craft a global solution to the plastics crisis.
However, progress has stalled in recent sessions due to divisions over whether the treaty should limit plastic production or focus on improving recycling and waste management.
Pressure is mounting for a breakthrough as the global impact of plastics becomes increasingly severe and visible.
Global plastic production reached nearly 475 million tonnes in 2022, up from just 2 million tonnes in 1950, according to UN figures.
Only 10 percent of plastic waste is currently recycled, with the vast majority ending up in landfills, incinerators, or the natural environment.
An estimated 200 trillion plastic particles now pollute the world’s oceans, many breaking down into microplastics that infiltrate ecosystems, food chains, and even the human body.
Marine animals frequently ingest plastic debris or become entangled in it, leading to injury or death and threatening long-term biodiversity.
WWF’s Zaynab Sadan warned that the environmental damage is often invisible, with plastic ingestion causing fatal digestive blockages in wildlife.
Scientific evidence is also growing around the human health risks of plastic exposure.
A recent report by The Lancet Countdown described plastics as a “grave and under-recognised danger” to public health.
The report estimates that plastic-related health impacts cost the global economy $1.5 trillion per year.
Of the 16,000 chemicals used in plastics, only 25 percent have been studied, and most of those examined are classified as highly hazardous.
Humans are exposed to plastic-related toxins through food, water, air, and skin contact—across the full lifecycle of plastic, from production to disposal.
Economic divisions continue to shape the negotiations.
Countries like Canada, the UK, and European Union members support capping virgin plastic production and banning toxic additives.
Oil-exporting nations such as Saudi Arabia and Russia oppose production limits, favouring technological fixes like improved recycling and waste systems.
Plastics have become a key area of growth for fossil fuel producers as global oil demand flattens in energy and transport sectors.
This economic interest is believed to underpin resistance to production caps from key fossil fuel states.
At the same time, some multinational corporations are backing stronger treaty rules.
Firms including Nestlé and Unilever, represented in the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, have expressed support for more consistent and enforceable regulations.
Rob Opsomer of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a coalition member, said inconsistent national policies raise reputational and operational risks for companies.
He noted that no brand wants to see its packaging polluting the ocean.
Negotiators in Geneva are expected to produce a draft treaty text by the end of this week.
This draft will form the basis for a final round of talks scheduled for late 2025 in South Korea.
If completed, the treaty would represent the most ambitious global environmental agreement since the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.
