The story so far:
Rapidly increasing plastic pollution is a serious global environmental issue as it significantly impacts ecosystems, their functions, sustainable development, and ultimately the socio-economic and health dimensions of humanity. With this realisation, this year’s World Environment Day (June 5) focused on “Ending Plastic Pollution” and encouraging worldwide awareness and action against it.
How serious is the issue?
The OECD’s ‘Global Plastic Outlook’ reveals that global plastic consumption has increased significantly due to the growth of emerging economies and markets. Plastics production doubled from 2000 to 2019, reaching 460 million tonnes, while waste generation grew to 353 million tonnes. Nearly two-thirds of plastic waste has a lifespan of less than five years, with 40% coming from packaging, 12% from consumer goods, and 11% from clothing and textiles. Among this waste, only 9% is recycled. Another 19% is incinerated, 50% ends up in landfills, and 22% evades waste management systems, often entering uncontrolled dumpsites, being burned in pits, or ending up in terrestrial or aquatic environments, especially in poorer countries.
According to the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution, in 2024 alone, 500 million tonnes of plastic were produced or used, generating around 400 million tonnes of waste. If the current trends continue, global plastic waste could almost triple by 2060, reaching 1.2 billion tonnes.
The Ocean Conservancy data reveal that each year, 11 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean, in addition to the estimated 200 million tonnes that already flow through our marine environment. According to a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) expert, if the current rate of plastic production and waste generation continues, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by the mid-century.
Why is plastic pollution such a grave problem?
The non-biodegradable character of plastics is a serious challenge. It simply breaks into smaller and smaller pieces over time, creating micro- and nano-plastics that infiltrate and contaminate every part of the planet, from the summit of Mount Everest to the depths of the oceans. Plastics account for 3.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. UNEP has stated that plastic production, use, and disposal could account for 19% of the total global carbon budget by 2040.
What are the health impacts of plastics?
There are health impacts at each stage of the plastics life cycle. Plastics have thousands of hazardous additives (including carcinogens, neurotoxicants, endocrine disruptors) that can leach from products and waste, and persist in the environment, threatening humans and ecosystems. Studies also proved that plastics have affected re-productive abilities in animals. In this context, over 18 million health professionals, represented by 63 health organisations across 88 countries, and more than 1,000 individual signatories, urge Plastics Treaty Negotiators to protect the planet and people from plastic pollution and demand urgent global actions through an Open Letter.
What remedies are being proposed?
At the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (2022), all 193 UN member states agreed to end plastic pollution through a legally binding international agreement. This is critical to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including climate action, sustainable consumption and production, protection of oceans, and the restoration of ecosystems and biodiversity. UNEP’s ambitious goal of reducing plastic waste by 80% within two decades requires serious action and international cooperation, innovation, better product design, and environment-friendly alternatives, as well as efforts to improve waste management and increase recycling.
As plastics and their chemical additives are primarily made from petrochemical feedstock, limiting their production and eliminating unnecessary items, especially single-use plastics, is urgent. Governments should permit production only within existing legal frameworks.
Most plastics used today are virgin (primary) plastics, while global production of recycled (secondary) plastics is only 6%. Improving recycling technologies and building profitable markets for recycled plastics are crucial.
Imposing landfill and incineration taxes can incentivise recycling. Extended Producer Responsibility schemes, landfill taxes, deposit refunds, and pay-as-you-throw systems need to be introduced.
Finally, people must adopt greener alternatives that have been used in the past. The media, too, has a significant role to play in shaping awareness.
Prakash Nelliyat is Former Fellow, Centre for Biodiversity Policy and Law at the National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai, and the co-author of the books: ‘Biodiversity Conservation through Access and Benefit Sharing’ and ‘Biodiversity and Business’ published by Springer Nature, Switzerland
Published – September 15, 2025 08:30 am IST