The Lancet: Plastic pollution is an underrecognised threat to health, experts warn as they launch a project to track plastics’ health impacts and monitor progress
Ahead of the expected finalisation of an UN global plastics treaty [1], a group of international experts call for a greater focus on health impacts when considering plastic pollution. The Health Policy published in The Lancet reviews the current evidence on how plastics – including microplastics and plastic chemicals - impact health and announces the launch of a new project tracking these impacts: the Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics.
It is projected that, without changes, plastic production will almost triple between 2019 and 2060 [2]. The Health Policy discusses evidence that plastics endanger human health at every stage of their life cycle – in production, use, and disposal – and highlights:
Based on the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change, the Lancet Countdown on Health and Plastics will identify and track a series of indicators that document the impacts of plastics and plastic chemicals on human health across all stages of the plastic life cycle. The first indicator report is expected in mid-2026.
[1] https://www.unep.org/inc-plastic-pollution/session-5.2
[2] https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2022/06/global-plastics-outlook_f065ef59/aa1edf33-en.pdf
The Lancet
Literature review
Not applicable
The Lancet Countdown on health and plastics
3-Aug-2025
See content