A world without plastic pollution? A new paper shows it’s possible

Negotiators have the ability to nearly eliminate plastic pollution by 2050 through a developing international treaty, according to a study published today in Science .

Leaders could pick any of several policy combinations addressing plastic’s production, use or disposal to achieve this goal, the University of California team found.  Some packages, like one the paper proposes, could slash planet-warming emissions, too.

“There are multiple pathways available to negotiators,” said A. Samuel Pottinger, senior data scientist at UC Berkeley’s Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center for Data Science and Environment (DSE). “But it does require ambition.”

Plastic is a pervasive part of everyday life, used in everything from diapers to furniture. Society’s manufacturing reflects this reliance. As of 2021, humankind had produced 11 billion metric tons of it, or the equivalent of 1.6 billion elephants. This vast supply leads to significant consequences. Plastic production, use and disposal harms ecosystems, increases human health risks, accelerates climate change and exacerbates societal inequities.

Global decision-makers have been working together since 2022 to address what the United Nations calls “a serious environmental problem at a global scale.” They will meet in South Korea this month to finalize the first-ever international legally binding treaty on plastic pollution .

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