Considerations for ensuring protection of human health from plastic pollution in the future treaty

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that plastic pollution has a range of impacts on human health and the environment across the full life cycle of plastics. As negotiations to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution have advanced, a diversity of governments have called for the objective of the future treaty to include the protection of human health and the environment from plastic pollution. This informal briefing note has been prepared ahead of the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-5.2), to support INC members’ discussions on how to reflect elements essential to achieving the protection of human health from plastic pollution in the future treaty. It addresses the following questions: How could an integrated approach to the protection of human health, considering the full life cycle of plastics, be reflected in the treaty text? What role could a dedicated article on human health play in supporting international cooperation, and what measures should it include to effectively protect human health? In what ways could a dedicated article on human health be complemented in other areas of the treaty text? What are some specific priorities in relation to other articles that could support achievement of the objective of protecting human health and the environment from plastic pollution?