Advances and treaty towards greener and safer plastics

Plastics play an irreplaceable and indispensable role in modern societies, leading to a rapid increase in plastic waste and its associated adverse impacts on climate change, ecosystems, and human health. Herein, issues related to plastic pollution and advances in sustainability efforts are proposed based on the articles published in the last decade. The progress of intergovernmental negotiating committee meetings for a global plastics treaty is summarized, and particular attention is paid to the second part of the fifth session (INC-5.2) in Geneva. Prospects and challenges are also presented to urge cooperation and innovations among the industry, academia and policy-makers towards greener and safer plastics.