Plastic pollution can be meaningfully reduced by up to 80% by 2040 if governments and businesses implement bold policy shifts and leverage existing technologies. The UNEP report, issued as a contingency plan in advance of critical negotiations in Paris, outlines concrete steps to curb plastic waste worldwide and to advance a global agreement aimed at ending plastic pollution.
The report Turn off the tap: How the world can end plastic pollution and create a circular economy presents a solution-centered analysis. It highlights practical actions, market reforms and policy options that can guide governments and enterprises toward a circular plastics economy.
“The way plastics are produced, used and discarded pollutes ecosystems, risks human health, and destabilizes climate systems,” stated Inger Andersen, UNEP Executive Director. “This UNEP report provides a roadmap to cut these risks drastically by embracing a circular approach that keeps plastic out of ecosystems, bodies and the economy. Following this roadmap could unlock significant economic, social and environmental benefits.”
Necessary changes to circularity
The report calls for first eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastics to reduce global plastic pollution by 80% by 2040. It then outlines three market shifts: reuse, recycle and redirect and diversification of products:
reuse: Refillable bottles, bulk dispensers, deposit-return (SDDR) schemes, container retrieval programs, and other reuse-friendly systems. Encouraging reuse options aligns with a system that favors repeated use.
recycle: If recycling becomes more stable and profitable, plastic pollution could drop by an additional 20% by 2040. Removing fossil fuel subsidies, enforcing design guidelines that boost recyclability, and related measures could raise the share of economically recyclable plastics from about 21% to roughly 50%.
Reorientation and diversification: Replacing plastic containers and packaging with alternatives such as paper or compostable materials could further cut plastic pollution by around 17%.
Even with these measures, an estimated 100 million metric tons of plastic from single-use items and short-lived products would still require separate recycling by 2040. The report calls for tighter design and safety standards for disposing of non-recyclable plastics and stronger accountability for manufacturers, including controls on microplastics.
The cost of “turning off the tap” into plastics is assessed, highlighting that a transition to a circular economy could yield substantial economic benefits by 2040. Estimates show potential savings of about 1.17 trillion euros when considering recycling costs and revenues, plus an additional 3 trillion euros saved by avoiding related harms such as health and climate impacts, air pollution, marine ecosystem damage and litigation costs (UNEP report).
The report notes that the shift could generate roughly 700,000 new jobs by 2040 and uplift the livelihoods of millions, especially in lower income regions.
While the changes require upfront investments, the report argues these costs are smaller than the long-term losses from inaction: annual costs could be around 62 billion euros versus 105 billion euros without the transition. Many funds could be redirected from planned plant expansions to support circular solutions, and a tax on virgin plastic production could accelerate change. However, the report warns that time is critical: delaying action by five years could raise plastic pollution by about 80 million metric tons by 2040.
In both disposable and circular economy models, most costs arise from operations. If plastics are designed for reuse and a formal system is in place to finance collection, recycling and end-of-life disposal, producers will bear these responsibilities.
The feasibility of these reforms depends on globally accepted criteria and internationally coordinated policies that help break national boundaries, sustain a thriving global plastics circular economy, and open business opportunities while creating jobs.
The report advocates a single worldwide tax framework to ensure recycled materials compete with virgin plastics, enabling scale economies for circular solutions and establishing robust monitoring and financing mechanisms.
Full report: Turn off the tap: end plastic pollution and create a circular economy, UNEP.
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