End single-use to turn the tide on plastic

lastic pollution is an increasing global crisis despite large-scale awareness and extensive mitigation efforts. Existing waste management systems and recycling technologies have failed to control the plastic menace. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, about 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic materials were produced between 1950 and 2017, with 7 billion tonnes ending up in landfills or the environment. The Global Plastic Outlook 2022 report of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) confirms that less than 10 per cent of plastic waste is recycled. It has now become clear that we cannot recycle our way out of the plastic crisis.

- GOVIND SINGH AND MADHAV SANKAR

The most effective and sustainable solution to the global plastic pollution crisis is significant reduction in plastic production. This will help overcome the mismatch between plastic production and waste-management capacity. According to the Plastic Overshoot Day (POD) Report 2025 by Earth Action, more than one-third of produced plastic is already being mismanaged. Without deliberate reduction in production, plastic pollution will continue to escalate. POD is that day when generation of global plastic waste exceeds the capacity of waste management in that year thereby resulting in pollution. While 5 September was the global POD this year, it is unique to each country and it fell on 20 April for India.

The Global Trade Update released by UNCTAD in August 2025 informed that over 78 per cent of plastics produced are traded internationally, adding that 75 per cent of all plastic ever produced ends up as waste. It advocates for a Global Plastic Treaty, which harnesses trade and investment policies, to facilitate a just transition for reducing plastic pollution. The UNEP already has an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) for developing a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution. Despite multiple negotiation rounds between 2022 and 2025, most recently in August 2025, no consensus has been reached by the INC so far.