About the Law and Plastics Toolkit

Since 1950, approximately 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic have been produced, resulting in the generation of some 6.9 billion tonnes of primary plastic waste. More than three-quarters of this plastic waste was discarded and ended up in landfills, dumps, uncontrolled or mismanaged waste streams, or the natural environment, including the oceans. Currently, it is estimated that 19-23 million tonnes of plastic leaks into aquatic ecosystems annually – from lakes to rivers to seas – from land-based sources. Exacerbated by contributions from sea-based sources, this combined plastic leakage is having major impacts on ecosystems, economies and society – including on human health. Addressing plastic pollution is therefore an urgent action. The United Nations Environment Assembly has made several resolutions in this area including:

  • A call to Member States to take comprehensive action including through legislation to address plastics pollution (paragraph 6 of UNEA Resolution 4/9 on addressing single-use plastic products pollution);
  • A request for the UNEP Secretariat to gather information with a view to informing policies and action for reducing the risk of discharges of litter, including plastic litter and microplastics, into the marine environment, taking into account the whole life cycle of plastics, in support of local, national, regional and global action (paragraph 2(d) of UNEA Resolution 4/6).
  • A request in Resolution 5/14 of March 2022 for UNEP to convene an intergovernmental negotiating committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic. See https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution

In response to the above Resolutions the Secretariat has developed this legal toolkit on Law and Plastics to assist legislators and policymakers in the development and strengthening of regulatory frameworks. The toolkit includes:

A Legislation Explorer

A comprehensive collection of national legislation relevant to plastic pollution. Searchable by:

  • Country;
  • Regulatory approach eg 'Bans and Restrictions', 'Economic Instruments', 'Standards, Certification and Labelling', and;
  • Semantically structured keyword terms relating to plastics legislation eg ‘waste management’, ‘recycling’, ‘lightweight carrier bags’, ‘biodegradable plastics’, 'ship-based marine pollution'. 

A glossary of terms commonly used in plastic pollution prevention and control legislation

A dedicated list of plastics legislation-related keyword terms with definitions, primarily developed for tagging and categorising the laws contained in the legislation explorer for enhanced searchability. Displayed beneath each term in the glossary section are links to all of the Law and Plastics Toolkit content which has been tagged with that term.

An interactive Legislative Reference Guide on single use plastics

Highlights key considerations for a legislator/policymaker in developing a regulatory intervention on plastics pollution, focusing primarily on the regulation of single-use plastics. Integrated within the guide are a number of other key resources from the Law and Plastics Toolkit including example legislation, case-studies, and extracts from relevant UNEP reports and e-learning courses. 

Case studies including good practice examples

In response to the many research and policy 'knowledge gaps' surrounding plastic pollution (including in the marine environment), UNEP has partnered with various universities and research centres to develop unique, in-depth country level case-studies on impacts of and binding and non-binding responses to plastic pollution and marine litter. There are also a number of best practice policy examples featured, including at the regional level. 

Learning Resources

Including free online courses relevant to Law and Plastics (available on the InforMEA e-learning platform) and listings of recent reports and guidance from UNEP and partners.