Global hopes for a strong, legally binding plastics treaty to end plastic pollution are fading as negotiations in Geneva remain deadlocked over key issues. Delegates from 200 countries have been meeting in Switzerland to draft a treaty that tackles the full life cycle of plastics, from production to waste management, but disagreements on production caps and enforcement threaten to derail the process.
The latest draft text, released by the chair on Saturday night, contains more than 1,500 unresolved sections, a sharp rise from 370 in December, showing just how far apart nations remain. With only four days left, many fear there will be no agreement on a meaningful plastics treaty.
Kenya’s UNEP and UNON representative Dr. Ababu Namwamba warned that plastic pollution is spiralling out of control, with seven billion tonnes already in the environment and another 430 million plastic items produced each year without proper recycling or take-back schemes. He also called for Nairobi to host the treaty’s secretariat, expressing concern that Kenya’s proposal has been excluded from the current draft.
Across the talks, frustration is mounting. Civil society groups, waste pickers, scientists, youth organisations, and NGOs have urged negotiators to “fix the process” and push for a vote to break the consensus deadlock. Advocates stress that without decisive action, the plastics treaty risks becoming a weak document that fails to stop plastic pollution. “It’s now or never,” said Salisa Traipipitsiriwat of the Environmental Justice Foundation. “Consensus is clearly holding us back, yet still countries did not have the courage to act.”
The African negotiating bloc was dealt a blow by the death of Ghana’s Environment Minister Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed in a helicopter crash on August 6, 2025. As chair of the African Group of negotiators, Dr. Muhammed had been championing an ambitious plastics treaty with strong measures to end plastic pollution.
Key disputes remain unresolved — from whether the treaty’s objective should be to “end” or merely “address” plastic pollution, to whether there should be global caps on production. Restrictions on harmful products such as single-use cutlery, microbeads, and plastic-stemmed cotton buds are also contested, with debates over cultural exemptions, food security concerns, and the affordability of alternatives. Developing countries are pushing for financial and technical support to meet obligations under the plastics treaty, while some petro-states resist measures that could impact their economies.
Experts warn that unless negotiators agree on the treaty’s objectives, product control measures, and a robust finance and technology package, the final plastics treaty could be a watered-down compromise that fails to stop plastic pollution. The Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics reports that less than 10% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled, and over 8,000 megatonnes now pollute the planet’s land, oceans, and even the human body.
As the final days of talks begin, more than 70 ministers are expected in Geneva for high-level roundtables aimed at breaking the deadlock. But with political divides widening and time running out, the world’s best chance for a truly effective plastics treaty hangs in the balance.
