Pacific Island countries, like others around the world, are evaluating their plastics use. The global bioplastics market (bio-based and/or biodegradable plastics) is projected to increase in the next decade, with their use in a range of sectors including agriculture/horticulture, aquaculture, fisheries, and food and non-food packaging. While in restricted and specific applications they may bring some advantages over conventional durable fossil-based plastics, caution is required to ensure these materials do not become regrettable substitutions, presenting hazards to organisms and human health, or contributing to social, economic and environmental burdens.
This fact sheet explains the sometimes inconsistent use of the various terms: bioplastics, biobased plastics and plastics with biodegradable properties – and why it is crucial that the Global Plastics Treaty address this topic.
Letter sent to INC Bureau on behalf of the Scientists’ Coalition calling for protections and assurances for observer participation at INC 5.2, dated 11th February 2025.
This policy brief addresses the need for cutting plastic pollution at the source through upstream solutions to significantly decrease plastic pollution. To effectively combat the global plastics crisis, upstream measures must take center stage, as they address the problem at its source and create the necessary market incentives for sustainable alternatives. The brief outlines that cutting[…]
It is important to recognize that removal efforts alone cannot solve the plastic problem and that they fail to address the scale or wider issues of plastic pollution. The only sustainable, safe, long-term, and effective solution to the global plastics crisis is to significantly reduce, simplify and detoxify plastic polymers and products, and to establish[…]
The final INC meeting of the Plastics Treaty negotiation is rapidly upon us, and a new process with revived momentum is underway with the Chair’s non-paper. The Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty has been supporting delegates, negotiators and other actors in accessing robust, independent scientific evidence to support decision making, and we have[…]
Plastics are a source of pollution throughout their full life cycle, releasing hazardous chemicals, macroplastics, micro- and nanoplastics (MNPs), and greenhouse gases (GHG) to the entire ecosphere. This policy brief focuses on the direct and indirect human health hazards associated with all forms of plastic pollution across the plastics life cycle. Read and download the[…]