Building a Vision for a Plastic Pollution-Free Future Plastic waste in nature is an urgent issue with major adverse impacts on wildlife, ecosystem health, the integrity of food supplies, communities, and livelihoods.
Currently, the equivalent of one dump truck’s worth of plastic enters our oceans every minute. By 2040, plastic production is predicted to double and plastic pollution entering the ocean is expected to triple. By 2050, plastic production is expected to account for at least 10%–13% of all global emissions, or 56 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. With a global treaty on plastic pollution expected to be negotiated by 2025, there is no time to waste in reshaping our current single-use economy. Moving from a linear to a circular economy requires a reevaluation of the way we do business, use materials, and manage our natural resources. A circular economy requires us all, as stakeholders, to align globally on high-level obligations, nationally on intervention measures, and locally on implementation practices.
