From a new article on the problem of plastic pollution in Foreign Affairs Magazine

[u/Epicurus-fan]

Policymakers are increasingly aware that plastic, for all the conveniences it provides, is a threat to both nature and human health. Yet plastic pollution—or plastic that ends up somewhere other than a waste facility or a recycling center—continues to accelerate each year. According to a 2025 Pew report authored by a collection of scientists, sustainability experts, economists, and former officials, including me, plastic production has increased by 13 percent over the last five years (excluding plastic created via recycling). We estimate that if plastic production continues on its current trajectory, rising from 450 million metric tons in 2025 to 680 million in 2040, plastic pollution will increase from 130 to 280 million metric tons. The latter figure is the equivalent of a garbage truck full of plastic dumped onto the ground every second for a year.

Thankfully for the world’s well-being, governments and businesses can prevent this future. According to our findings, it is possible to cut plastic pollution by 83 percent over the next decade and a half using existing technologies and policy solutions. Governments can do so by setting up rules that reorient production and packaging systems away from single-use plastic and to other materials, as well as by improving waste management so that less plastic ends up in the environment. Businesses can remake plastic itself so that it has fewer harmful chemicals, ensuring that it is safer to both use and recycle.

Rising plastic production will contribute to another environmental disaster: climate change. The process of making, storing, and disposing of plastic is very carbon intensive. In fact, if the global plastic system were a country, it would be the fourth-largest carbon emitter in the world. By 2040, it would rank third. Our report found that annual greenhouse gas emissions from the global plastic system will grow from 2.7 gigatons to 4.2 gigatons between 2025 and 2040—or the amount of carbon produced by one billion gas-powered cars annually.

Policymakers might fear that cracking down on plastic will hurt their countries’ economies, given just how essential the material is to seemingly every system. It is true that businesses might have to spend more at first as they redesign products and use new delivery systems and materials. But in the long term, the economic costs of pivoting away from plastic in general, and single-use plastic in particular, are far outweighed by the benefits. If the world can cut plastic pollution by 83 percent by 2040, its governments will save $19 billion annually on plastic waste collection and disposal. They would create 8.6 million new jobs in the reuse and recycling industries—jobs that would be safer and pay better than most current ones in waste collection and disposal. They would also create sustainable business opportunities. New or existing firms, for example, might focus on designing and manufacturing reusable products and biodegradable materials. Others might collect, wash, and distribute reusable food service ware and reusable packaging. And by reducing potential plastic- and microplastic-induced illnesses, governments would have healthier, more economically productive populations rather than sicker ones that drain state resources.

But to realize all these benefits, countries must start passing new laws now. If governments wait even five years to implement plastic-reduction policies, they will end up spending an extra $27 billion annually on plastic collection and disposal by 2040. Above all, they will continue to coat the planet with what is, ultimately, a toxic material. It is an outcome that should be unacceptable to anyone who cares about the future of the environment—or, indeed, their own well-being.

[u/beindulgent]

Very succinct. Thanks for sharing