IPEN International Pollutants Elimination Network

As Plastic Talks Continue, a Reminder of What We’re All Exposed To

As international talks continue this week, a dozen U.N. officials reveal scientists tracked their exposure to many chemicals found in plastics. The wristbands look like those you might find at…

Study: Plastic Waste and Recycling Workers Face Toxic Exposures from Hazardous Plastic Chemicals

Study Finds Workers in Thailand are Exposed to Phthalates, Toxic Flame Retardants, and Other Harmful Plastic Chemicals A new study by EARTH and IPEN finds that plastic waste and recycling…

‘Once in a lifetime’ chance to end plastic pollution as nations assemble in Busan

Delegates from more than 170 nations are gathered in Busan this week to hammer out the details of what could become the world’s first treaty paving the path to end…

Parsing the global plastic pollution problem

The last round of negotiations for a global treaty addressing plastic pollution is underway in Busan, South Korea. This week’s summit of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, or INC-5…

Plastic pollution pushing Earth past all nine planetary boundaries

“Plastics pollution exacerbates the impacts of all [nine] planetary boundaries,” warns a report published this month in the journal One Earth in the run-up to what could be the final…

men burning a small pile of plastic trash, France24 logo in foreground
Plastic pollution talks: the key sticking points

Nations gathered in Busan, South Korea have a week to agree on the world’s first treaty to curb plastic pollution, a gargantuan challenge given the major divisions that remain. Consensus…

The World Is Drowning In Plastic Pollution. Can a Global Treaty Fix It?

On November 25, delegates from around the globe will gather in Korea to finalize the draft text of the world’s first global plastics treaty. Or at least that’s the plan.…

Plastics Treaty Negotiators Meet in Busan in Hopes of Reaching Compromise

Negotiators from around the globe are descending on Busan, South Korea, this week for a final scheduled meeting aimed at crafting a global treaty to curb plastics pollution. They have…

Nations Struggle to Agree on a Global Plastics Treaty

Two years in, delegates from more than 175 countries working to craft a global plastics pollution treaty remain widely divided. Whether an agreement emerges from a final scheduled round of…

A Global Plastics Treaty Could Help Clean Up the Arctic

Global plastic pollution could triple by 2040 if nothing changes. In the Arctic, it is threatening marine ecosystems, food security, health and the human rights of Indigenous Peoples. Alaska residents…