Plastic pollution is out of control. Fueled by unsustainable production and consumption, the rapidly increasing levels of plastic pollution have created a serious environmental problem on a global scale, putting the world’s health and economic and social well-being at risk.
To solve the plastic pollution emergency…
Governments, industry, and individuals must embrace a circular approach that considers the full life cycle of plastics, from production, to consumption, to waste management. This means that when plastic is introduced into the economy, it remains there, while harmful, avoidable, and unnecessary plastics are eliminated and substituted with sustainable options and practices.
Ambitious actions and strategies
The #BeatPlasticPollution calls for a stronger, more agile, innovative, and forward-looking presence to engage governments, industry, and individuals in making deliberate changes and choices across the plastic value chain to eliminate the use of unnecessary, avoidable, and problematic plastic products.
To address this systemic challenge, the following actions need to be ambitiously applied and integrated:
- Reduce the size of the plastics problem by eliminating problematic or unnecessary plastics, including hazardous chemicals.
- Design for circularity by ensuring all plastics are reusable, recyclable, or compostable
- Close the loop by collecting and recycling plastics.
- Improve waste collection across the globe and responsibly dispose of plastics that cannot be recycled
“It is clear that we cannot put the brakes on action to address plastic pollution. This is such a big challenge, we need to come at it, through different tracks, all converging on the same road.” - Inger Andersen
A system change is necessary to address the full life cycle of plastics. From extracting raw materials to designing new sustainable alternatives, to improving collection and waste management infrastructure, innovative thinking is essential in eliminating unnecessary, avoidable or problematic products.
Governments
Current commitments by governments and industry will only reduce the annual volume of plastic flowing into the ocean by about 7% by 2040. It is important that national and local governments commit to urgent and ambitious actions across the plastic life cycle and support upstream solutions. Government institutions can take action by:
- Creating an integrated policy and regulatory package with clear targets that ensures all aspects of the plastic life cycle approach are addressed.
- Eliminating unnecessary, avoidable, and harmful plastic products.
- Encouraging reuse models where relevant.
- Investing in and scaling up waste management infrastructure to ensure plastic waste is properly collected, sorted, and recycled.
- Embracing a common framework that includes national, regional and sector, and solution-specific targets in design standards for reuse and recycling, plastic labeling, and global trade cooperation.
- Committing to initiatives like the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter.
- Promoting the development of national and regional communication and advocacy campaigns that engage the public and inspire consumers to make concerted social and behavior changes to address the plastic pollution crisis.
Businesses and Investors
Investors can play a key role in mobilizing finance and setting standards for businesses and industries to move away from harmful plastic production toward circular economies on plastics. Businesses and investors can take action by:
- Eliminating problematic, unnecessary, and harmful plastic packaging by embracing redesign, innovation, and new delivery models.
- Ensuring 100% of plastic packaging produced is reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
- Designing and producing plastic products with lower impacts in use and end-of-life phases and that can be recycled effectively, depending on geographic context.
- Investing in and improving upon technologies that allow for secondary materials to be transformed into high-value products with high-recyclability capabilities.
- Offering more affordable and sustainable alternatives to consumers, thereby increasing opportunities for consumers to shift away from single-use plastic products.
- Encouraging plastic reuse through extended producer responsibility and deposit-return schemes.
- Disclosing information and increasing transparency about the materials used in products produced.
- Committing to initiatives like the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter.
Civil Society
Investors can play a key role in mobilizing finance and setting standards for businesses and industries to move away from harmful plastic production toward circular economies on plastics. Businesses and investors can take action by:
- Eliminating problematic, unnecessary, and harmful plastic packaging by embracing redesign, innovation, and new delivery models.
- Ensuring 100% of plastic packaging produced is reusable, recyclable, or compostable.
- Designing and producing plastic products with lower impacts in use and end-of-life phases and that can be recycled effectively, depending on geographic context.
- Investing in and improving upon technologies that allow for secondary materials to be transformed into high-value products with high-recyclability capabilities.
- Offering more affordable and sustainable alternatives to consumers, thereby increasing opportunities for consumers to shift away from single-use plastic products.
- Encouraging plastic reuse through extended producer responsibility and deposit-return schemes.
- Disclosing information and increasing transparency about the materials used in products produced.
- Committing to initiatives like the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter.
Individuals
Individual and community actions underpin the systemic change required to transition to a less plastic-dependent economy. Some actions individuals can take include:
- Shifting individual behavior change, transitioning from disposable to reusable products.
- Actively sorting waste and disposing into correctly labeled containers.
- Ensuring plastic packaging is reused, recycled, and composted.
- Using your voice and choice to let politicians know that you care about the plastic pollution issue and that they should too.
- Promoting the Plastic Smart Cities Initiative which mobilizes cities and regions to present plastic leakage into the natural environment.
- Moving away from purchasing over-packaged products.
- Purchasing items with extended warranties that can be repaired.
Interactives
Advocacy Materials
Resources and E-Learning Courses
Initiatives to Follow
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Beat Pollution aims to build and nurture a larger narrative on a pollution-free planet that weaves interrelated aspects of climate and nature and connects different forms of pollution to the larger issue of pollution and waste. The goal is to optimize human health and environmental outcomes through enhanced capacity and leadership in the sound management of chemicals and waste and increasing circular processes.
FORMS OF POLLUTION
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