Overview

• The Health Policy report details plastics’ harm at production, use and disposal, linking exposures to chronic diseases and premature death.
• Researchers estimate 8 billion metric tons of plastic waste now pollute land, air and water, with microplastics detected in human tissues.
• Open burning of 57 percent of unmanaged plastic waste is identified as a major source of air pollution in vulnerable low- and middle-income communities.
• Significant gaps in data on plastic chemicals have prompted experts to call for greater transparency and precautionary regulations on thousands of untested substances.
• UN delegates will meet in Geneva from August 5–14 to finalize a legally binding plastics treaty, with advocates seeking a full life-cycle approach informed by the new Lancet monitoring framework.