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Knowledge gaps impeding plastic governance in the European Union
Summary
Plastic pollution keeps piling up, but governments still don't have the basic tools, or even enough scientific data, to fix it, according to this analysis of EU plastic policy. Researchers found major gaps in understanding plastic's full life cycle (from production to disposal), tracking where plastic waste actually ends up, and getting companies to be transparent about what's in their products. Until these gaps are closed, it's harder to regulate the plastics and microplastics that end up in our food, water, and bodies, so this matters if you care about reducing your exposure to these materials.
Plastic pollution poses urgent environmental, societal, and health challenges, yet governance remains fragmented. The 2022 UNEA resolution 5/14 offers an opportunity for a legally binding treaty, but negotiations are stalled by geopolitical tensions, entrenched industrial interests, and divergent views on the plastic problem. Effective governance is further constrained by knowledge gaps spanning the entire plastic life cycle. The European Union, as a leading proponent of life-cycle-oriented plastic governance, provides a relevant context to examine these gaps. This paper offers an analysis of critical knowledge gaps that impede effective plastic governance across plastic life cycles. Through a multi-stage process drawing on structured expert input and supporting review of relevant literature, we identify four strategic action areas essential for progress in the European Union: knowledge generation, methodological development, transparency and disclosure, and tracking and traceability. Advancing these areas is important to addressing the urgent and complex challenges posed by plastic pollution.