The Climate Impact of Our Insatiable Plastic Addiction

Let's start fresh this year with a nice recap on why plastic is so detrimental for us and the planet!

In December, the UN held the first round of talks to negotiate a global plastic treaty, but nations were split on the best approach.

According to Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics and senior fellow and visiting faculty member at Bennington College, any effective plastics treaty must include:

1. Banning unnecessary single-use plastic products such as plastic bags, utensils, stirrers, polystyrene, shipping envelopes, etc.
2. Investing in reuse and refill system infrastructure that reduces our reliance on single-use products
3. Requiring that plastics be reduced by 50% in the next decade and that what is left can actually be safely recycled, which means eliminating toxins from plastics
4. Making plastic polluters pay for the damage that they continue to cause
5. Banning waste exports so that nations are required to manage their own waste and stop dumping it on other countries.