July 2025
Plastic pollution is a key driver of the climate and environmental emergency and the UK, as a major producer, exporter and polluter, has a responsibility to lead efforts in finding a comprehensive global solution to the challenge.
With the final round of talks for a new UN Global Plastics Treaty set to resume in August, the UK Government must seize this moment.
The proliferation of plastics in society has grown exponentially in recent years. More than half of all plastics ever made have been produced since 2004, with single-use plastics accounting for 35-40 per cent of current production. This mass production comes at a significant cost in terms of plastic waste management, borne by local municipalities, and an estimated 79 per cent of all plastic ever created is languishing in the open environment or in landfills.
The UK produces and exports more plastic waste per person than almost any other nation, with the US being the only country surpassing us. Much of the plastic exported from our shores is responsible for pollution and causing harm to communities in recipient countries, yet the UK’s domestic recycling industry is struggling and the country’s transition to alternative systems such as reuse is woefully slow.
It has long been clear that without a comprehensive international rule book to govern the production, design, use, trade and disposal of plastics, no single country will be able to effectively combat plastic pollution. Moreover, the UK’s role as a major consumer means we must show leadership in finding solutions.
Despite the myriad of other concerns for British citizens, this plastic pollution remains an issue of high concern. A recent poll by Ipsos, commissioned by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), shows overwhelming public concern about plastic pollution – 91 per cent of those surveyed think plastic pollution has a great or fair amount of impact on the environment and 71 per cent support legally binding targets to reduce plastic production.
Earlier in July, the Government’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee met to scrutinise the UK’s position on the treaty negotiations, following a call for evidence in which many stakeholders, including EIA, provided written evidence. Following the meeting, MPs wrote to minister Emma Hardy, emphasising the need for legally binding targets to reduce production of primary plastic polymers, calling the measure ‘’essential if the tide is to be turned on plastic pollution’.’
Yet, despite overwhelming support for reducing plastic production and setting legally binding rules to phase out the problematic plastic products and chemicals of concern which undermine global recycling efforts and contribute towards increased toxic exposure, powerful plastics industry lobbyists have stepped up efforts to undermine global regulation. From pedalling techo-fixes to trying to undermine independent science, the industry lobby has been deploying the climate playbook in force to seek to undermine the most ambitious proposals in the treaty negotiations. No fewer than 220 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists attended the last round of treaty talks in Busan, the highest number to date and making them the single largest delegation at the negotiations.
We know that such sustained industry presence represents a major conflict of interest. It’s for the same reason that major tobacco producers were explicitly excluded during the negotiations for the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to protect public health from vested interests.
We also know that the public believes the plastics industry should be held more accountable. The EIA/Ipsos survey found that 67 per cent of respondents felt that manufacturers and producers of plastic or companies selling plastic products or packaging should have the most responsibility for taking action to reduce the amount of plastic pollution in the UK.
The final round of treaty negotiations represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to not only drive transformative change across the plastics value chain and facilitate transition to sustainable systems, but also to ensure polluters are held accountable for the plastic pollution devastating communities and the environment worldwide.
History has shown that voluntary commitments from plastic producers fall woefully short of addressing the scale of this crisis. Without binding regulations, the industry will continue to evade responsibility and fail to take meaningful action.
In an increasingly complex geopolitical environment and at a time when multilateralism itself is under threat, the plastics treaty negotiations are a litmus test for whether multilateral environmental agreements can still be effective in addressing the world’s most press environmental challenges. We’ve seen before how successful they can be – one need only look at the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer to see how binding regulations coupled with facilitative finance can massively impact existential threats, yet the growing rise of isolationism and obstructionism threatens the potential for new agreements to replicate these heights.
If the UK wavers now, we’ll be effectively condoning ongoing industry malfeasance and squandering public trust. But if we stand firm, guided by the conclusions of the EFRA Committee and the public mandate, we can help seal a treaty that transforms global plastic policy.
The question is simple – will the UK lead or will it be led by petrochemical interests? All eyes are now looking to Geneva in August for an answer.
Christina Dixon is Ocean Campaign Lead at Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)
The opinions expressed in this blog are the authors' and not necessarily those of the wider Link membership.
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