Plastic Free Future

We are living in a world that is being destroyed by throwaway plastic. Plastic pollution has flooded our planet, harming people’s health, accelerating social injustice, destroying biodiversity and fuelling the climate crisis.

Waste Management and Recycling in Bogotá, Colombia. © Juan Pablo Eijo / Greenpeace

99%

of plastic is made from oil and gas

5.25
trillion

The number of pieces of plastic in our oceans. By 2050, our oceans could have more plastic than fish.

9%

of the worlds plastic gets recycled

Plastic Trash at Bali's Kuta Beach. © Made Nagi / Greenpeace

The Problem with Plastics

From beaches in Southeast Asia to the remote Antarctic, plastic pollution is everywhere. It is harming animals like turtles and seabirds, affecting human health, and is a significant driver of the climate crisis.

Science is only beginning to understand the long-term effects of plastic on human health, yet microplastics have been found in the air we breathe and the food we eat, and even in our organs and our blood. And communities on the frontlines of plastic production and waste are disproportionately affected by plastic pollution, social injustice, and the climate crisis.

The fact is that 99% of plastic is made from oil and gas — and big oil are making more and more each year. The full lifecycle of plastic harms livelihoods and the climate.

Despite all of this, big oil, in league with big brands like Unilever, Nestlé and Coca-Cola, continue to promote false solutions and a throwaway single-use model where ‘convenience’ and corporate profits outweigh the cost to our communities and health.

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Tackling Plastic Pollution at the Source

This isn’t just a matter of individual people stopping using plastic or recycling more. We need to end plastic at the source: the corporations that create plastic waste.

Greenpeace around the globe is calling on the polluting corporations that produce BILLIONS of tonnes of plastic bottles and waste every year to phase out single- use plastic and switch to refill and reuse today.

We have the opportunity to end the plastic crisis by pushing for a strong and ambitious Global Plastics Treaty that will end runaway plastic production and use. We know that the petrochemical industry, corporations and some governments will try to weaken the ambition of the Global Plastics Treaty, and here is where the battle truly begins.

At the upcoming negotiations in coming years, we will show how an unstoppable global movement can achieve an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty that will turn off the plastics tap and finally, end the age of plastic – for our health, our communities, climate, and the planet.

Plastic Found in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. © Justin Hofman / Greenpeace

12 million tonnes of plastic waste including straws, drink bottles and food wrappers are poured into our oceans each year! And the corporate giants plan to triple their production of single-use plastics. Your donation today will help power our urgent campaign to protect our planet by pushing for a strong Global Plastics Treaty, and calling on polluting corporations to clean up their act.

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