Plastic pollution is surging, so what are governments doing?

LONDON - The health impacts of a plastic pollution crisis are costing the world $1.5 trillion each year in economic losses, according to new research from the Lancet medical journal.

From heart problems to infectious diseases, plastics are devastating human health and the environment as production continues to soar and is expected to increase 2-1/2 times by 2060 compared to 2022, said the Lancet's monitoring system, called the Countdown on health and plastics.

Countries cannot agree on how to fix the problem. They meet in Geneva this week to search for a breakthrough after missing a deadline to pen a U.N. treaty on plastics last year.

At the December talks in Busan, South Korea, more than 100 countries supported a proposal to reduce plastic production, but petrochemical-producing nations like Saudi Arabia were only prepared to agree on a deal tackling plastic waste.

So, what environmental impacts are caused by plastic, and how can countries address the issue?

Why is plastic a problem?

Plastics are causing widespread pollution on land and at sea, causing harm to human health and damaging vulnerable marine habitats such as coral reefs and mangroves.

Between 400,000 and 1 million people are estimated to die each year in developing countries because of diseases such as diarrhoea and cancer related to plastics and other mismanaged waste, according to a 2019 report by the charity Tearfund.

The production of plastics also plays a part in climate change, because they are made from fossil fuels such as oil and gas.

Through their life cycle, plastics emit 3.4% of global planet-heating emissions, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

How much plastic waste is recycled?

Around the world, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, according to the OECD, which predicts that global plastic waste is on track to almost triple to 1.23 billion tonnes in 2060 from 460 million tonnes in 2019.

Experts say the problem is particularly severe in emerging economies which lack the sophisticated recycling processes of wealthier nations.

This could be improved through schemes such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) where plastic producers are made responsible for the end of a product's life cycle, such as by paying to cover the costs of recycling.

Should we ban single-use plastics?

A 2023 report by the Back to Blue initiative, a research group run by the Economist Impact think-tank and the Nippon Foundation, examined global efforts to cut plastics by EPR schemes, production taxes and bans on single-use plastics.

It found that single-use bans were the most effective, but said that if these were implemented in G20 countries without any other measures, plastic consumption would still be 1-1/2 times higher by 2050.

The world generated an additional 6 million tonnes of polluting single-use plastic in 2021 compared to 2019, according to research in 2023 by the Minderoo Foundation in Australia.

Steve Fletcher, a plastics expert at the University of Portsmouth in Britain, said there was often a "false distinction" between single- and multi-use plastics, which should be banned if they lack a clear purpose, are toxic and cannot be reused or recycled.

How can plastic consumption be reduced?

Analysts say one of the challenges when it comes to reducing plastic consumption is how cheap it is to produce, thanks to fossil fuel subsidies.

Fletcher said more financial incentives are needed to "level the playing field" to make recycled plastics more appealing, along with taxes on virgin plastic.

He said "system-wide shifts" include making products reusable by design, much like the glass bottles reused by traditional milkmen, and encouraging big food vendors, such as at sports stadiums, to reuse cups and cutlery.

Does the world need a plastics treaty?

Given the global nature of supply chains, analysts say local schemes alone may be unsuccessful to cut down on plastic, as supply chains can sidestep fragmented policies.

A global treaty could, for example, create guidance and standards to help countries decide which plastics are problematic and unnecessary.

The U.N. talks in South Korea were supposed to be the final round, but countries will resume talks this month, the sixth meeting since 2022, to get a deal over the line.

This explainer was updated on August 4, 2025, with new research published by Lancet.

(Reporting by Jack Graham; Editing by Jon Hemming and Ayla Jean Yackley.)