International Plastic Treaty

Some countries and companies say they want an ambitious treaty, but when you actually look into the details, they aren’t pushing for meaningful solutions. 

Chemical and plastics corporations are actively lobbying for weaker treaty terms. At first, they were opposed to plastic regulations. But that hurt their reputation and their bottom line. So now, they're playing along, making sustainability claims and trying to weaken solutions from the inside. They keep pushing for weaker, flexible treaty terms that focus on waste management, instead of real solutions like reducing plastic at the source and limiting toxic chemicals.

We can’t expect the companies that created the problem to help solve it. And we can’t let this treaty leave room for industry greenwashing and lack of real progress.

Treaty negotiations are now in overtime. We’re already seeing delegates and representatives increasingly willing to compromise, settle for vague treaty language, or consider postponements. Tell your leaders: this is not the time to waver!

We know the plastics and health problem is major. We’re up against something bigger than any one individual or organization or legislator or business leader can take on alone.

So we’re teaming up with allies and organizations around the world to demand a strong treaty that ambitiously tackles plastic pollution and protects human health. We’ll be delivering this petition to world leaders and delegates at the next negotiating session.

We need governments worldwide to step up to this historic opportunity by listening to the people. World leaders need to get this treaty right. This is going to be a heavy lift and we don't have time to waste. Big Oil and Big Plastic won’t go quietly. But we’re ready to rally, alongside friends from around the globe. Are you? 

Together, we’re raising our voices as collective citizens of this earth. No matter how you’re tackling the plastics problem, we need you.

Photo by Seunghyeok Choi for Break Free From Plastic and Uproot Plastics Coalition

Petition:

We demand a strong global treaty that will protect our health and the health of our future generations!

From: [Your Name]

Plastics are a threat to human health! We demand a strong global treaty that will protect our health and the health of our future generations!

For close to a hundred years, humanity has been silently exposed to toxic chemicals hidden in plastics. According to the PlastChem report, among more than 16,000 plastic chemicals, over 4,200 have been classified as highly hazardous to human health, but less than 6% of these chemicals are subject to global regulation. Meanwhile, oil, gas, and coal industries continue to extract petrochemical feedstocks and mass produce chemical products that are woven into everyday plastics. Driven by profit above all else, these industries continue to place plastics on a global marketplace while by-passing scrutiny on the risks they pose to human health.

Plastics contain hazardous chemicals affecting our health and fertility, such as phthalates and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as endocrine disrupting chemicals. We are seeing more studies that link these chemicals to infertility in humans, and in animals, obesity, cancer and even preterm birth morbidity and mortality. What is more concerning, is that this is only the tip of the plastic iceberg! Incomplete data, lack of transparency on chemical compositions, and fragmented regulations make it difficult for countries to put preventive measures in place. Moreover, these chemicals are difficult to trace before they arrive in our homes and workplaces in the form of innumerable plastic products that threaten our health.

The ubiquity, complexity, and hazardous characteristics of plastics require strong legally binding global regulations. Only an international treaty that addresses plastics and its toxic chemicals along its full lifecycle can safeguard human health and protect future generations.

1) A treaty that ends plastic pollution is one that prevents pollution. As plastic producers recklessly produce more plastics, we unknowingly pollute our bodies with chemicals that lack complete information on the harmful effects that they have on our health. We need a treaty that obligates countries to provide transparency on plastic chemicals and eliminate groups of chemicals that are hazardous to human health.

2) A strong plastic treaty must comprehensively regulate chemicals along its full lifecycle, not just those found in plastic products. Toxic chemicals that are emitted during the extraction of oil, gas, and coal to create the chemical feedstocks must be addressed under the treaty and binding obligations must regulate hazardous chemicals at each stage of its lifecycle to help phase them out.

3) Plastic chemicals are a direct threat to the enjoyment of our human right to health. Unfettered production of plastics, which are projected to increase, expose us to harmful chemicals that are being marketed and sold while burdening us with a myriad of health issues. Simply swapping out plastic products with non-plastic materials is inadequate to ameliorate the harm. We need a treaty that can hold plastic producing polluters to account for the harm that they continue to cause and for prohibiting us from attaining the possible highest standard of physical and mental health.

We are finally faced with an opportunity to stop the scourge of plastics on our health and on the health of our children. Join us in calling for an international legally binding treaty that will prevent plastic chemicals from harming human health.