WASHINGTON – The United Nations will host the second half of the fifth and final scheduled round of negotiations (INC-5.2) for an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution, widely known as the “global plastics treaty,” from August 5-14, 2025, in Geneva, Switzerland. The agreement aims to curb the global plastic pollution crisis, of which the ocean often bears the brunt.

Ocean Conservancy’s Vice President of Conservation, Ocean Plastics, Nicholas Mallos, said, “Plastics are being found everywhere we look, from the deepest ocean trenches to the highest mountain peaks. They are in the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink, with serious concerns for human and environmental health. We needed an ambitious plastics treaty at the last round of negotiations in November, one that addresses the root causes of plastic pollution and empowers countries to work toward a future where we’re not drowning in plastics. Between that last meeting in Busan and the start of the negotiations in Geneva, an estimated 7.4 million metric tons more plastics have entered the ocean, and that’s why we cannot delay this agreement any further.”

As an official U.N. observer organization, Ocean Conservancy experts have been deeply involved throughout the negotiation process to develop the plastics treaty. Ocean Conservancy’s five priorities for the treaty are to secure plastics source reduction; address abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded plastic fishing and aquaculture gear, also known as ghost gear; address microplastics, both those that are intentionally created small like cosmetic beads and those that break down from larger plastics; incentivize designing plastics for reuse and recyclability; and include the expertise of the informal waste collection sector as a critical participant. 

Ocean Conservancy experts are available to discuss:

• Plastics treaty outlook and processes
• Plastics reduction
• Plastics science
• Ghost gear
• U.S. plastics policy
• Microplastics

If you want to set up an interview with one of our plastics treaty experts, please contact Roya Fox at [email protected] or 1.202.280.6285.

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