Policies failing to address the global plastic pollution crisis

A global assessment of plastic policies finds many are failing to reduce the tide of plastic pollution.

Current plastic policymaking approaches have little effect on the global plastic pollution crisis. These are the conclusions of the University of Portsmouth's Global Plastic Policy Centre, which recently analysed the effectiveness of 100 plastic policies.

Although plastics are versatile materials, the evidence of the harm they can do is mounting. For example, plastics are found in the stomachs of multiple different species of animals, and their chemical components, which can often be harmful, inside organs. Recently, researchers detected microplastics in human breast milk for the first time. These and other environmental and human health concerns have prompted the proliferation of plastic policies.

The researchers defined a plastic policy ‘as any action taken by government, private businesses, charitable organisations, and interest groups in response to the plastic pollution problem’.

It may seem surprising to include non-governmental actors in a policy review, but as Antaya March, Senior Research Associate with the University of Portsmouth, explains, "as much as governments are essential, there are these other actors with their own initiatives that have a critical role to play in addressing this problem." 

The researchers assessed the extent to which a policy reduced plastics entering the environment and the factors contributing to a policy's effectiveness. They found most policies lacked specific time-bound quantitative or qualitative targets or included plans to monitor policy effectiveness. 

"If we don't know what's working, what are we putting policies in place based on?" March asks. 

Integrated approaches are needed

The suite of policies evaluated varied widely in targets and efficacy. Businesses tended to set achievable targets (that they could report success on) more often than governments, whose targets tended to be larger in scope and less well defined. 

However, March cautions that even when a policy performs well against its targets, there isn't necessarily any reduction in plastic pollution. The primary reason for this failure is that policies typically only look at one piece of the problem. 

"We need integrated systems-wide approaches, with government collaborating with industry, addressing all the stages of the plastics lifecycle," March explains. "For example, if you have a deposit return scheme in place, you need to have, within your country, the recycling capacity to manage those returns and not just ship it off to somewhere else and call it recycling. Then to support that recycling infrastructure, you also need the right capacity."

March also adds that as vital as recycling is, "we can't just keep recycling our way out of this problem without stemming the influx of new plastic products."

Recycling locally should be favoured over shipping plastics elsewhere for recycling (Credit: Shutterstock)

More policies to be evaluated

This report is just the beginning of the researchers’ efforts to build a body of evidence on what does and doesn’t work.

"This report was our pilot to refine our methods and understand what the policy landscape looks like," says March. "We're currently reviewing another 150 policies, and we'll keep adding more to the list."

The researchers also hope to offer more refined recommendations that can prompt the development of evidence-based policies that will reduce plastic pollution. "As we review more policies, we will be refining our recommendations [for different scenarios] – extended producer responsibilities or for small island developing states, for example," March explains.

A legally binding plastics treaty

With nations starting a two-year process to frame a legally binding UN Treaty on plastics pollution, this report and the continued policy evaluation are timely. 

"What we're trying to encourage is really ambitious targets and a systemic and full lifecycle approach to tackling plastic pollution," March explains.

In terms of marine plastics, this included thinking about the waste from at-sea operations and land-based sources. March also highlights that all plastic originates from the land and that proper waste management occurs on land too. A systematic approach that looks at the entire lifecycle of plastics, she says, will ultimately benefit all environments and people.

Dr Sam Andrews is a marine ecologist and science writer