Policy Options to Eliminate Additional Marine Plastic Litter by 2050 Under the G20 Osaka Blue Ocean Vision

The annual discharge of plastic into the ocean is estimated to be 11 million tonnes. Globally, national plastics policies are rare and tend to focus on banning or taxing individual plastic items rather than focusing on systemic change of the plastics economy. Indeed, the current policy mix will not deliver the changes needed to reduce additional marine plastic litter to zero.

However, marine plastic litter entering the ocean can be reduced exponentially compared to “business as usual” using known technology and approaches. This publication qualitatively considers possible policy options to ensure that by 2050 the net volume of plastic entering the ocean is zero, in line with the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision. It shows the marine plastic litter trends relevant to 2050, summarizes the current plastic policy landscape and explores upstream and downstream interventions, concluding with a set of policy messages to deliver on the Vision and implement the systemic changes needed to improve the plastic economy.