Can the world solve its plastic pollution problem?
A United Nations-driven effort to end plastic pollution was the topic of an October 16 panel discussion held at the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society. Sponsored by the institute and Boston College’s Global Observatory on Planetary Health, the event featured public policy, health, and marine experts, who discussed the recent UN resolution that would forge an international legally binding agreement by the end of 2024.
The panel was part of BC’s United Nations Conference of Parties (BC@UNCOP) program, which is managed and funded through the Schiller Institute. BC is an official Observer Organization for the UN’s Climate Change Conference (COP); students and faculty attended COP26 and COP27.
The U.N. resolution, unanimously endorsed by all 173 members of the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022, will address the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal. It also established an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee tasked with drafting and ratifying the treaty.
Professor Philip Landrigan is director of BC's Global Observatory on Planetary Health.
The discussion, moderated by BC Law Professor and Dean’s Distinguished Scholar David A. Wirth, an international environmental law expert, featured panelists Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., director of BC’s Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Global Observatory on Planetary Health; Northeastern University Professor of Public Policy Maria Ivanova, director of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs; Joshua Lincoln, senior fellow at the Centre for International Law and Governance at Tufts University; and Hauke L. Kite-Powell, a research specialist at the Marine Policy Center of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Â
“Plastic is the signature material of our age. It has contributed to improvements in human health, extensions in longevity, and growth of the global economy,” said Landrigan. “It is now clear, though, that plastic has a dark side. The benefits provided by plastics have come at a great cost to human health, the environment, and the economy.”
Landrigan and Wirth were members of a commission that published a report in March offering science-based recommendations designed to support the development of the treaty. Also involved were Vice Provost for Research and Academic Planning Thomas C. Chiles, the DeLuca Chair in Biology; Walsh Professor of Bioethics and Theology Chair Andrea Vicini, S.J.; Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jia Niu; and six Boston College undergraduates. Â
“Plastic pollution is a global threat,” said Landrigan, who chaired the commission. “It has grown insidiously while the focus has been on climate, and because plastic is persistent, and less than 10 percent is recycled, nearly six billion tons now pollute the planet. This waste contains more than 10,500 chemicals incorporated into plastic, including carcinogens, neurotoxicants, endocrine disruptors, and many others of unknown toxicity.” Â
"The benefits provided by plastics have come at a great cost to human health, the environment, and the economy.”
BC Law Professor and Dean's Distinguished Scholar David Wirth served as panel moderator.
Kite-Powell said that while estimates of plastics in the world’s oceans have been revised downward recently, the impact of microplastics on marine mammals, fish, and birds—all of which rely on the ocean and other aquatic ecosystems for their existence—remains a major concern.
Ivanova, who called attention to the macro problem of plastic pollution, noted that Governor Maura Healey signed an executive order this fall making Massachusetts the first state to ban the purchase of single-use plastic bottles by state agencies.
“If there is existing, local, state, or national legislation and regulation, a country is more likely to join an international treaty,” she said.
Lincoln said that while progress has been heartening, the treaty “doesn’t amount to a hill of beans unless you can finance it.” He added that he and his colleagues had developed a proposal for direct taxation of the companies that produce primary polymers. “It probably won’t make it through, but it’s an interesting notion.” Â
Panelists agreed that all eyes will be on the next INC meeting—its third—in Nairobi November 13-19.
“The treaty’s overarching goals should be to protect health, safeguard human rights, and preserve the earth, our common home,” said Landrigan.  “A global, mandatory cap on plastic production will be essential to achieving these objectives; it should be a core provision of the treaty. The great power of a production cap is that it is primary prevention; it reduces pollution at its source.”