We know what’s at stake and we know what to do. It’s time to turn the tide on plastic pollution.

In August, governments will convene in Geneva, Switzerland, to continue negotiations for a global plastics treaty at INC-5.2. This is the best chance we have to make lasting change on tackling plastic waste and pollution. 

Each year, 12 million tonnes of plastic continue to leak into our oceans, where they are consumed by marine life. Think of a piece of flexible plastic packaging, like a small food wrapper, and then consider that an estimated 25,000 of these pieces of packaging end up in the ocean every second. Not every year, or month, or week, or even day. Every second. As the scale grows, so does our understanding of the prevalence of plastic pollution and our understanding of its impact on human health, ecosystems and climate. Plastic pollution is now our shared concern – a problem for the conservationist, the CEO, the politician, and the consumer. Solving it demands shared ambition for system change – a belief in the need to transform how we make and use plastics–and collaborative action from all of us. 

As the problem of plastic pollution has grown, so has our understanding of how to solve it. In recent years, many countries have strengthened regulations on single-use plastics, while leading companies have demonstrated they can reduce their primary plastic use. On every continent, groups of NGOs, businesses, and governments have formed Plastics Pacts and worked on localized solutions to eliminate tens of billions of plastic items, while significantly scaling up reusability, recyclability, and compostability. 

It’s not enough.

A more comprehensive, global, approach across the full life cycle of plastics is urgently needed, and all sectors have an important role to play.

Global production of plastic is expected to rise by 70% in the coming decade, and pollution will rise with it. If we believe we can solve plastic pollution – and we do – then we cannot get stuck making not-enough progress. We have to accelerate the change. 

As leaders of not-for-profit organizations that have decades of experience working to tackle plastic pollution, we see that the plastics crisis can only be resolved with a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, precipitating a systems change. Monterey Bay Aquarium’s mission to inspire conservation of the ocean includes working with partners to advance science-based solutions to pressing ocean health challenges that threaten people, wildlife, and ecosystems, such as plastic pollution. Packard family philanthropic gifts sparked the creation of two major ocean science organizations, both the Aquarium and its research and technology partner, MBARI.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is a global NGO working with business and governments to redesign the economic system of plastic production, use, and disposal to one that eliminates waste, keeps products and materials in circulation, and regenerates nature: a circular economy. The Foundation, in partnership with WWF, set up the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty, which brings together more than 300 businesses and financial institutions in support of an ambitious and effective global treaty. 

Our approaches to this work may be different, but our experiences have brought us to a shared conclusion: The global scale of the issue requires a coordinated, global solution, and change at a scale that involves the collaborative actions of many. For this to happen, we must push to make this collaboration easier, less costly, and more appealing.

Global knowledge has also leapt forward, with scientists, civil society organizations and research institutions all contributing to our understanding of not just the scale of this crisis, but how to solve it. 

Years of work and research on the plastics crisis have shown us where to focus our efforts: reducing plastic pollution at the source, including by reducing global production of primary plastics; eliminating harmful chemical additives from plastics; making the plastics we do need safer and more sustainable; improving reuse systems; innovating for alternatives; and driving for sustainable, large-scale financing for waste collection and waste management. These are achievable solutions, but it’s clear that voluntary actions won’t get the job done.

A legally binding treaty that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics, not just disposal and waste, would drive real and lasting progress. During the previous round of negotiations in Busan, Republic of Korea, over 100 countries indicated their support for global targets that would reduce primary plastic production and consumption to sustainable levels. 

Rather than lobbying against this type of regulation, hundreds of businesses have pledged support for a strong treaty because they see what shared rules offer them. A treaty with binding global rules will set the direction of travel, and drive investment into proven solutions with maximum impact and huge economic potential. 

Philanthropy is a critical catalyst for change. It can unstick stalled progress, making change easier to undertake and harder to turn away from. Philanthropy enables research, unlocks innovation, strengthens NGOs working across the plastics pollution crisis, and engages consumers to pressure businesses and policymakers to embrace solutions. It can also de-risk (and, therefore, facilitate) opportunities for businesses to work together both pre- and, crucially, post-competitively.

INC-5.2, taking place between 5-14 August, marks a moment to show that the world can come together to take on shared global challenges. We must move forward together as an international, multi-sectoral community to scale-up solutions and to set out in a coordinated way to achieve the systemic change we need to tackle plastic pollution.

Governments and treaty negotiators should be bold – and be willing to act with ambition. Policy makers and CEOs, scientists and philanthropists, conservationists and consumers will all be the problem solvers. And a global treaty with binding rules across the full lifecycle of plastics will set everyone on the same path towards solutions.