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A new published in journal The Lancet issues a fresh clarion call: plastic pollution is a grave and growing danger to human and planetary health. As Ministers and diplomats arrive in Geneva for the final round of talks to conclude a global plastics treaty, the report provides the most up-to-date assessment of the links between health and plastic pollution. Professor of epidemiology Roel Vermeulen is co-author on the report.

An estimated 8 billion metric tons of plastic waste now pollute the planet. Micro- and nanoplastic particles and multiple plastic chemicals are found in the most remote reaches of the environment and in the bodies of people and animals. Plastics harm human health at every stage of the plastic life cycle, and at every stage of human life. While we are all affected, vulnerable populations bear a disproportionate burden. This new report chronicles the impacts of plastics and plastic pollution for disease and death from infancy to old age, and highlights the significant health-related economic costs. 

While the impact of plastic pollution is growing, a worsening of plastics’ harms is not inevitable. UN Member States will gather in Geneva, Switzerland from 5 – 14 August 2025 for the expected final round of talks to conclude a global plastics treaty to end plastic pollution. The mandate for these negotiations is to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic. 

the report also announces the launch of an independent monitoring system on plastics and health: The Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics. The new Countdown will identify and regularly report on relevant and representative indicators across all stages of the plastic life cycle. It will also track progress towards minimising exposures and mitigating human health impacts. In doing so, the Countdown will provide independent data to inform decision-making for the benefit of public health.