Is the treaty in force yet?

Not at the time of writing. The UN is negotiating a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution through an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee. The provisions here reflect the draft text and likely direction, so use the tool to prepare early rather than as a statement of current law.

What are problematic and avoidable plastics?

These are products and applications a treaty is likely to restrict or ban — for example certain single-use items, intentionally added microplastics, and hard-to-recycle multilayer formats. Identifying these lines early lets you redesign or exit before a ban removes the market.

What is extended producer responsibility?

EPR makes producers financially and sometimes operationally responsible for the end-of-life management of the products and packaging they place on the market. The treaty is expected to push national EPR schemes, so budgeting for fees and reporting now reduces future shock.

Why prioritise by severity?

Provisions differ in how quickly and how hard they bite. An outright elimination list can remove a product from the market entirely, while a transparency requirement is a reporting burden. Sorting by severity focuses scarce resources on the exposures that could stop you selling.

Is this legal or compliance advice?

No. It is an educational early-warning screen based on draft provisions that will change before ratification and national implementation. Confirm obligations with qualified legal and regulatory advisers for each market you operate in.

Global Plastics Treaty Readiness Checker

The UN is negotiating a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty to end plastic pollution. This checker screens your product portfolio against the draft provisions most likely to affect producers — elimination lists, design standards, extended producer responsibility, recycled-content targets, and transparency — so you can spot high-risk product lines and move early rather than react to a ban.

How it works

Each provision is rated for your readiness and weighted by likely regulatory severity, because an outright ban is a bigger threat than a reporting obligation:

readiness:  ready = 1 · in progress = 0.5 · not ready = 0
provision risk = (1 − readiness) × severity weight
overall score  = Σ(readiness × weight) / Σ(weight) × 100
high-risk list = provisions not fully ready, sorted by severity

A high overall score means your portfolio is largely aligned with the expected direction; the high-risk list tells you which exposures to close first.

Tips and notes

The provisions with the highest severity are the elimination and ban lists, because they can remove a product from the market entirely with no compliance path. If a high-revenue line depends on a likely-restricted format such as a multilayer pouch or an intentionally added microplastic, treat redesign or substitution as the top priority. Recycled-content and EPR provisions are usually phased, giving more runway, but still need budgeting now. This is an early-warning tool, not legal advice — verify obligations per market with qualified advisers.