You can now read SF’s most recent governance paper, ‘Breaking the Deadlock – Ideas for Advancing a Global Treaty on Plastics Pollution,’ by Craig Boljkovac. After more than seven decades of almost unabated plastic production and use—particularly of single-use plastics—the planet faces mounting environmental and human‑health challenges. Visible accumulations in oceans and rivers, clear impacts on wildlife, and invisible microplastics detected in human and animal tissue have catalysed global concern.
Scientific evidence linking plastics pollution to environmental degradation and potential health risks is already clear and continues to grow. A 2025 scientific inventory reports that there are some 16,325 chemical substances used in plastics manufacture—monomers, additives, processing aids, and non‑intentionally added substances—of which roughly 4,200 are chemicals of concern. Microplastics have been documented in the human placenta, breast milk, and brain tissue. Read the full paper here.
