Delegations once again gathered in Nairobi this July to resume negotiations on the formation of a global plastics treaty, amid continuing disagreements on what is to be included. While some delegates reported “incredibly positive” engagement from this latest round of negotiations, several nations continue to push the proposal of a waste-only treaty, overlooking the compounding issues surrounding plastics such as chemicals and new plastics production. The exclusion of such iss

Transitioning to a circular economy would mean moving away from a ‘throwaway’ economy and towards a system which prioritises resource-efficiency, reuse and repair, and designing out waste entirely. The UK lacks a set of ambitious policy recommendations that would structure this transition. A Circular Economy Plan for the UK was originally scheduled for autumn 2025. Yet, given the upcoming leadership change, climate organisations and some industry leaders worry that the govern

In 2022, UN member states passed a resolution titled ‘End Plastic Pollution’ and since then governments and corporations have been working on a number of global treaties and voluntary commitments to reduce their plastic footprints, with varying degrees of success. The Nice Ocean Action Plan The United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) is a three-yearly formal UN summit. In June 2025, the third conference, UNOC3, took place in Nice, France. This resulted in the Nice Ocean Action

Indonesia is one of the most recent Southeast Asian countries to ban plastic waste imports. Despite the ban, the consequences of plastic waste imports inundating Indonesian communities remain, and they serve as a warning for neighbouring countries yet to impose their own bans. The Indonesian government initially attempted to create livelihoods with the waste imports. Paper mills were to use these imports to source scrap paper to reuse in their production, and local communitie

When you hear of plastic ocean pollution, you may only think of images of floating waste like The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (litter that has ended up spinning on the surface of the North Pacific Ocean) — a large and visible reminder of the scale of plastic pollution in our oceans. However, what’s less discussed is what’s actually happening beneath the surface. What does plastic ocean pollution do to marine life that is less visible? It affects marine life in many ways. Pl

Every 60 seconds the world produces staggering amounts of plastic. It is expected that we will produce a total of 766 million tonnes of plastic per year by 2040, equivalent to 75 trillion plastic bottles. Despite decades of recycling campaigns, the problem is only getting worse. A new report from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), Bending the Curve, argues that we cannot recycle our way out of the plastic crisis and that it is imperative we reduce plastic producti

Plastic doesn’t get into the sea on its own. It travels there usually via leakage from poorly managed waste systems. Understanding this journey is key to shoring up these systems. Around 19 million tonnes of plastics leak into the environment on a yearly basis. Of this, around 14 million tonnes enters rivers, coasts and other water systems. An estimated 11 million tonnes then reach the ocean, which equates to around 0.5% of all global plastic waste. How does this happen? In m

Here in the UK, 9.25 million tonnes of plastic waste leaves our dockyards and heads to developing countries. Why do we ship it off? Because the UK government wants to offload the responsibility of processing our plastic waste. However, this comes at the significant detriment of importing countries’ economies, environments, and health. For three decades, China imported over 70% of the world’s plastic waste, but that all changed in 2018. In the eight years since China banned th

Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) are designed to incentivise recycling and reduce litter by assigning monetary value to drinks containers. Hailing from an era when soft drinks, milk and beer companies collected, washed and refilled glass bottles, DRS are now tackling modern waste issues. However, DRS alone doesn't address the key issues: overproduction of single-use plastics. Extended Producer Responsibility Whilst DRS is often discussed separately, it is in fact a form of Extend

You might have heard about Scotland’s ‘black bag’ waste ban. The ban is set to cover all biodegradable municipal waste (BMW), in both the domestic and commercial sectors. BMW encompasses the significant portion of municipal waste that breaks down naturally, e.g. food waste, garden waste, paper, cardboard, and natural fibres. But you may question: isn’t waste breaking down naturally a good thing? After all, isn't biodegradable waste preferable to plastics and metals that persi

The Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is an environmental policy that will tackle litter and pollution, reducing the environmental impacts of plastics and leading us towards a circular economy. Whilst the UK’s plans are still faltering, other countries are showing us how it’s done. Germany has an impressive 98% return rate for drinks containers! Consumers can return a wide range of containers, including plastic bottles, cans and glass bottles for financial reward. Norway’s DRS was

If there’s one thing to take away from the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC 2025) and the ocean plastics crisis, it’s that solutions do exist, but that they’re not scaling, not enforced and not shared equally. Cleanup technology may help in pollution hotspot areas, but they treat symptoms, not causes and are cost intensive. Recycling has a role, but its effectiveness is vastly overstated and most plastics are actually not recyclable to date. Individual actions - whilst

The 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) brought ocean issues back into the global spotlight. Delegates from over 100 countries convened to reaffirm commitments to SDG 14: Life Below Water, address overfishing and clamp down on marine pollution. The tone was urgent, the diversity of stakeholders impressive and the pledges ambitious - but the gap between promises and action remains as wide as ever, with a clear lack of dedicated funding to prevent plastic and microplast

On December 8th, 2023, an environmental crisis occurred off the northern coast of Spain when a cargo ship lost part of its load. In an alarming incident, an estimated 25 tonnes of plastic pellets, commonly referred to as nurdles, were released into the sea. This event elicited concern within the local community and renewed discussion about the environmental risks linked to plastic pollution. Nurdles are small, lentil-sized plastic pellets that serve as the starting material f

In 2016, headlines proclaimed that by 2050, plastic in the ocean could outweigh fish. The science behind this claim is weak - estimating biomass is notoriously difficult - but the message is no less important. The real issue isn’t a race between fish and plastic. It’s the failure of governments, industries and global systems to prevent known harm. At the 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), governments once again pledged action on marine pollution. But critics, including ClientEa

You have swapped your plastic bags and ditched the straws. But there is a source of pollution you cannot opt out of, and it’s happening on every road in Britain, every single day. Although we call them rubber, modern vehicle tyres are actually made from a complex blend of synthetic materials, chemicals and polymers. Every time a car pulls away from the lights, it leaves something behind; not just exhaust fumes, but thousands of microscopic plastic particles, shed from the tyr

You have dutifully cleaned, dried, and separated your household plastics. When you do your weekly shop, you take your plastic bags and chuck them into the supermarket’s soft plastics recycling bin. You have done your bit. But where do your used plastics go? Despite your best efforts, your household recycling may end up in an illegal dump on the other side of the world. The UK exports 9.25 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, making it the sixth largest exporter in the

Ghost nets, or “ghost fishing gear”, are fishing and aquaculture nets abandoned, lost, or discarded in the sea (ALDFG = Abandoned, Lost, or Discarded Fishing Gear). Once in the water, they do not become inert trash, but they continue to “fish” passively. Drifting with currents, or settling on the seabed, they can trap fish, turtles, marine mammals, seabirds, and other organisms, often killing them slowly by entanglement, starvation, or injuries. Ghost nets can also damage vul

Considered one of the greatest environmental risks to health, air pollution is laden with fine particulate matter that causes cardiovascular and respiratory disease, cancers, and substantial mortality. Cleaning up our air demands concerted action by local, national, and international level policy makers. A 2023 briefing from the United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) examined claims and assumptions about the health impacts of ‘Energy from Waste’ incinerators,

Cigarettes are among the most littere d items worldwide with an estimated 4.5 trillion cigarette filters entering the environment every year. Cigarettes also make up around two thirds of all litter found in England across 80% of surveyed sites . Despite the prevalence of cigarettes discarded in the environment, filters have rarely been tackled as a source of plastic in efforts to reduce this environmental waste. So why should we be concerned about cigarette filters? Cigarette