© Ecologic Institute, 2025
Plastics and Their Global Impact: Why the World Needs a Binding Agreement
48th UNEP/UNESCO/BMUV International Postgraduate Course on Environmental Management
- Presentation
- Date
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- Location
- Berlin, Germany
- Lecture
On 17 March 2025, Doris Knoblauch (Ecologic Institute) gave a presentation on "Plastics and the Environment", highlighting the negative impacts of plastics and plastic pollution at a post-graduate course attended by 21 experts from ministries, authorities, municipalities, NGOs and industry from low-income countries and emerging economies. The focus was on why plastic pollution is a problem for both the environment and human health, the role of textiles, and why we urgently need an international, legally binding plastics treaty.
Key points of the presentation included
- What plastics are: Plastics begin as monomers that link together to form long, repeating chains (called polymers). Plastics and the additives in them have a range of chemical properties that make them incredibly versatile. However, some of these substances can affect our body's hormonal system and are harmful to our health.
- Where plastic waste comes from: The amount of plastic thrown away increases as a country's income rises. In other words, wealthier nations generate more plastic waste.
- Plastic pollution every step of the way: Plastic doesn't just pollute when we throw it away. The problems start with the extraction of raw materials and continue through manufacturing, transportation, trade, use, and eventual disposal.
- Take textiles as an example of overproduction: Fast fashion, with up to 50 fashion cycles per year, is one of the sectors in which the problem of overproduction is particularly evident and leads to major problems with used clothing, which is currently difficult to recycle.
- Why we need a treaty: Given the scale of these problems, we urgently need a global, legally binding agreement to address the plastic crisis and protect both the environment and human health.
The presentation was part of the 48th UNEP/UNSECO/BMUV International Postgraduate Course on Environmental Management for Developing Countries, organized by the Centre for International Postgraduate Studies of Environmental Management (CIPSEM) at the Technical University of Dresden.
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