Plastics on trial: A briefing series on evolving liability risks related to plastics

Authors: Rosa Pritchard and Alice Merry

Date: September 2022

This series of four briefs from ClientEarth explores the developments in plastic-related legal action targeting companies.

Since plastics first started being used commercially in the 1950s, the material has become ubiquitous in modern life. However, with single-use plastic products accounting for over around half plastic produced each year,1 the world has experienced an exponential increase in plastic production and waste. These plastics are contributing to climate change, degrading our ecosystems, threatening biodiversity, harming economies and impacting on human health.2

The damage caused by plastics, and the corresponding costs for governments, businesses, and society,3 is increasingly recognized by the public, by governments, and in courts. The first wave of legal cases on plastics have now been launched.4 We predict that these will evolve rapidly as public and government concern around the impact of plastics continues to grow, bolstered by the ongoing negotiations for a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, the mandate for which was established in an historic resolution at the United Nations Environment Assembly in March 2022.5

We have identified four themes around which plastic-related cases converge:

1. Greenwashing

2. Hazardous chemicals

3. Plastics in the environment

4. Waste disposal and recycling

Each brief outlines developments in legal action against companies relating to the relevant theme, and also considers how these trends may unfold in the future. Such legal cases have knock-on impacts on the financial sector, including banks and investors that provide financing for these companies, as well as the insurers that underwrite the risks they face.

The full set of briefing notes can be found here.