It’s all over our homes, in the clothes on our backs, and is vital to the operation of global trade, including the food system. Yet plastic – once hailed as a miracle material – is now causing enormous damage to the environment, not only through the carbon required to produce it, but also via the pollution it creates.
On 25 November, members of the United Nation’s environment committee will meet in South Korea to finalise the Global Plastic Treaty, with the document due to be signed in 2025. This legally binding agreement follows on from the end plastic pollution resolution, which was adopted in 2022, and will cover all stages of plastic production, use and waste management.
The treaty’s focus on better product design, comprehensive recycling and eliminating all non-essential single-use plastics will require innovative solutions. Luckily, many new ideas developed by scientists, designers and engineers are already in the pipeline.
