New Resource to Tackle Plastic Pollution Globally

Ahead of UN Plastics Treaty negotiations set to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, next month, we are proud to announce the launch of the Global Plastic Law Database.

ELAW partnered with Plastic Pollution Coalition, Break Free From Plastic Europe, and The Surfrider Foundation U.S. to build this powerful new database.

The Global Plastic Law Database will be the most comprehensive tool to date to research plastic legislation that has been adopted around the world. The Database will track legislation across the full life cycle of plastics and organize policies according to life cycle categories and key topics. Adopting laws to reduce plastic pollution on a global scale is widely recognized as a vital step to address this crisis and rein in the damage plastic pollution is doing to our communities, health, and environment. Following the adoption of the UN Plastics Treaty, the Database will support and monitor its implementation.

Visit Global Plastic Law Database

This launch represents years of work by the partner organizations, including ELAW, which have gathered, analyzed, and presented laws from around the world. As a data partner on the project, ELAW is responsible for tracking and updating a significant portion of the global legislative activity, focusing on legislation outside the U.S. and Europe. We will work with partners to add more laws as we learn about them.

Thank you to all the volunteers and interns who have worked on this project alongside ELAW’s Law Team!

  • Tristan Cline
  • Tyler Facto
  • Ebba Hooft Toomey
  • Mira Kron
  • Ryan Laws
  • Zoe Light
  • Lily Nelson
  • Alaina O’Regan
  • Sophia Zhang

Going forward, ELAW will regularly review and add legislation to the database so that policymakers and advocates around the world have access to emerging trends, new solutions, and policy innovations as they work to rein in plastic pollution through law at all stages of the plastic life cycle.

ELAW also provides more in-depth information for lawyers on ELAW’s website, Plastic Law, on many of the most innovative plastic laws.

Bern Johnson
Executive Director
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide

P.S. We are hiring a Ph.D. community ecologist with a strong background in marine and coastal ecosystems. Please share! Learn more and apply here.