Global plastic treaty talks ended in failure with no agreement, but momentum to cut plastic pollution remains. United States lawmakers introduced the Microplastics Safety Act, mandating the Department of Health and Human Services to study microplastics exposure and health impacts, reflecting bipartisan concern about the plastics health crisis. Plastic production, use, and exposure continue to increase yearly, creating urgency to act now. Three areas can reduce microplastics exposure: culture, business and policy. Cultural shifts include normalizing reusable cutlery, unwrapped whole fruit, and refillable bottles and mugs, with Hollywood supporting zero-waste practices and reduced fast-fashion visuals. Some local grocers already enable plastic-free shopping.
As global plastic treaty talks end in failure, with no agreement, all is not lost in the global momentum to cut plastic pollution. United States lawmakers recently introduced the Microplastics Safety Act, for example, mandating the Department of Health and Human Services to study microplastics exposure and health impacts. The bill reflects growing concern in Congress about the plastics health crisis and the broad bipartisan support to address it.
In culture, there are many default behaviours that we can rethink and re-norm. What if we saw more people bringing their own metal or wooden cutlery to the next barbecue, more shoppers bringing home whole fruit instead of plastic-wrapped pre-cut, and more kids and employees bringing their own refillable water bottles and coffee mugs to school and work? The more we see it normalised, the more we'll do it. That's how social norming works. And having Hollywood in on this would certainly help.
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