Comments on the Basel Convention plastic waste amendments: implementation, challenges, impacts, and possible further activities

The Basel Convention plastic amendments were historic, and were followed by a reduction in global plastic waste traded under the HS 3915 code. Still, the plastic pollution and related health crisis continues unabated, harming human health, the climate, planetary boundaries and human rights. Microplastics are everywhere, including in our own bodies. As plastic treaty negotiations stall and harm from plastic pollution continues, it is all the more critical for the Basel Convention to remedy the gaps in its plastic waste trade controls and show continued leadership.