The goal of the Global Plastics Treaty is to “end plastic pollution and to protect human and environmental health.” Despite overwhelming evidence of the adverse impacts of microplastics on human and environmental health, the inclusion of how microplastics will be addressed within the Global Plastics Treaty remains unclear. Yet, a contaminant as morphologically and chemically diverse as microplastics should be considered a priority for regulation under the Global Plastics Treaty like the 1979 Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP). As the goal of finalizing the Global Plastics Treaty at INC-5 was not realized, a valuable opportunity to push for more inclusion and objectives that include atmospheric microplastics exists. To ensure that atmospheric microplastics are present within the Global Plastics Treaty text, the following are recommended. Ensure that inclusion of terms “air” and/or “atmosphere” and/or “atmospheric microplastics” be present alongside other environmental compartments like terrestrial and aquatic (marine and freshwater) environments. Capping plastic production is critical to reducing subsequent microplastic pollution. Improving product design or developing microplastic capture technologies should be prioritized for plastic products known to contribute to atmospheric microplastic pollution. Empirical targets should be established to mitigate emissions of atmospheric microplastics from “leaky” regions (e.g., urban centres and industrial regions), and targets should also be placed on activities that result in generation and release of secondary microplastics (e.g., dryer emissions and automotive tires). A framework to reduce pollution should be informed by the structure of other relevant successful multilateral air pollution agreements (e.g., the Montreal Protocol and CLRTAP), and goals should be informed by the present science and data obtained from monitoring. A global network of atmospheric monitoring observatories should be established to identify “leaky” regions or sources/activities and monitor temporal changes in microplastic concentrations via long-range processes. Establish specialized working groups of global experts that can develop and harmonize atmospheric microplastic monitoring and analytical methods. Assess effectiveness of mitigation and reduction strategies for atmospheric microplastics in relation to the empirical targets established by the Global Plastics Treaty. Additionally, atmospheric microplastics can be used as a metric to ensure that broader scale changes to pollution reduction strategies implemented by the Global Plastics Treaty are effective.

Global plastic production has more than doubled over the past two decades, fueling a parallel rise in transboundary plastic waste trade (PWT). Despite efforts to curb this through the Basel Convention and its 2021 Plastic Waste Amendments (BCPWA), loopholes and inconsistent implementation continue to allow large volumes of problematic and “hidden” plastic waste to bypass regulation. This flow of waste from high-income to lower-income countries has resulted in disproportionate environmental and social harms, often described as “waste colonialism.” Three years after the BCPWA entered into force, its limited impact highlights the urgent need for stronger, clearer, and universally enforceable rules. As the Global Plastics Treaty (GPT) nears conclusion at INC-5.2, negotiators have a critical opportunity to strengthen global controls. Expanding the Basel Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure to cover all plastic waste—including currently unregulated categories such as synthetic textiles and B3011 plastics—would close existing regulatory gaps, promote transparency, and ensure environmentally sound management. While a full ban on PWT may be politically unattainable in the near term, universal PIC represents a pragmatic step forward. Ultimately, meaningful progress demands upstream solutions: the GPT must prioritize reducing plastic production at its source, especially for the most harmful and unnecessary applications.

An ambitious global plastics treaty is urgently needed to decrease soil pollution from microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs), originating both from intentional uses of agricultural plastics and from composts and sludges applied to soils, contaminated due to the increasing plastic production and use. The current narrative, biased by vested interests, overemphasizes short-term benefits of agricultural plastics, while ignoring their adverse effects. MNPs disturb invertebrate and pollinator behavior, affect nutrient cycling and carbon sequestration, decrease photosynthesis and plant growth, contribute to water and air pollution and may contaminate plants, crops and livestock. The thousands of chemicals contained in conventional and biodegradable or biobased plastics can leach into soil. By threatening ecosystem functioning and terrestrial food production, plastic pollution represents a challenge for food safety and human health and is a long-term threat to food security. To protect soils from plastic pollution, a strong global treaty is needed, with provisions on plastic production reduction, product design and regulation of plastic chemicals. Plastics’ essentiality, sustainability and safety criteria are needed in the agriculture sector – where plastics are used unsustainably and not all are essential – and in all sectors along the food production value chain (food processing, packaging).

The escalating presence of microplastics (<5 mm) in drinking water presents urgent environmental and health challenges, yet the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Global Plastics Treaty draft texts, including UNEP/PP/INC.5/4 and the Chair’s Text, lack robust provisions to address this issue. This Letter to the Editor analyzes deficiencies in the treaty’s approach, identifying critical gaps in standardized terminology, globally consistent monitoring methodologies, comprehensive source control and enforceable international regulations. Leveraging insights from California’s innovative microplastics monitoring framework, which employs spectroscopy-based detection and provisional health thresholds, we highlight scalable solutions for global policy. Key obstacles include technological disparities, economic reliance on plastic production, limited toxicological data and geopolitical barriers to unified action. We propose targeted strategies for the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2), including adopting precise microplastics definitions, establishing universal detection protocols, regulating both primary and secondary microplastic sources and supporting research and capacity-building in low-resource regions. These measures aim to enhance the treaty’s ability to mitigate microplastic pollution in drinking water, fostering science-driven global cooperation to protect ecosystems and public health.

Festivities, holidays and celebrations are often associated with unsustainability and high environmental impact. Examples include unsustainable overconsumption and waste during Christmas, Ramadan and during the Chinese New Years celebrations among many others. Microplastics (i.e., plastic fragments 5 mm) have also become a significant environmental concern during these periods. Common non-essential festive items like glitter, confetti, balloons and other decorations along with glitter used in cosmetic products contribute to microplastic pollution, potentially causing adverse effects on ecosystems and human health. Despite overwhelming evidence of the adverse impacts of microplastics on human and environmental health, how non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations will be addressed within the Global Plastics Treaty remains unclear. Although the draft Global Plastics Treaty text includes non-essential plastic items such as balloons and rinse-off microbeads in cosmetics, no other decorative or aesthetic use of microplastics have been included. Whilst the inclusions of non-essential plastics are commendable, we argue that further inclusions be made for non-essential microplastics used in cosmetics, festival and holiday decorations within the Global Plastics Treaty.