Plastics treaty should focus on growing global health concerns

A man rummages through a heap of trash to seek daily bread comprising of used papers, plastic bottles and metals along the banks of river Nairobi near Majengo slums in Nairobi on May 17, 2022. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

In March 2022, the UN Assembly made a historic resolution to end plastic pollution and forge an international, legally binding agreement to combat plastic pollution.

This was a critical decision, as the treaty could curb and reduce the production of toxic chemicals. But while the resolution calls for a plastics treaty that ends all forms of plastic pollution, it does not mention toxic chemicals, even though plastics are made from chemicals.