Plastic use is ubiquitous in modern life, but so is the associated pollution, impacting human health, the environment, climate change, and more. ELI is working to address these problems by identifying actionable law and policy tools that can be used to regulate plastic at every stage of its life cycle and convening stakeholders to prioritize and advance these solutions. Our analyses—which are based on science, draw from leadership across all sectors, and aim to elevate principles of justice—allow for conversations to move beyond dialogue and into action.
ELI Resources
Publications
- Plastics: Exposing Their Climate Impact (May 2025)
- Existing U.S. Federal Authorities to Address Plastic Pollution: A Synopsis for Decision Makers (October 2024)
- U.S. Authorities and Considerations for the Global Plastics Agreement (October 2024)
- PFAS Deskbook (November 2023)
- Marine Litter Legislation: A Toolkit for Policymakers (May 2016)
Digital Media
Webinars
- Chemical Recycling: More Pollution? Or a Sustainability Solution for Plastic? (August 27, 2025)
- TSCA Reform – Nine Years Later (June 25, 2025)
- Extended Producer Responsibility for Plastics and Packaging: Compliance Issues and a Treaty Negotiation Update (June 18, 2025)
- Extended Producer Responsibility: Examining State Plastics and Packaging Laws (February 12, 2025)
- U.S. Authorities and Considerations for the Global Plastics Agreement (October 30, 2024)
- Existing U.S. Federal Authorities to Address Plastic Pollution (July 1, 2024)
- A Primer on Compliance and Enforcement Issues for Plastics Pollution (January 31, 2024)
- Moving Beyond Plastics: The Environmental Justice Impacts of Plastic Pollution (June 27, 2023)
- Moving Beyond Plastics: Key Developments from California (September 29, 2022)
- Single-Use Plastics and the Pandemic (December 15, 2020)
- Global Review of Plastics Pollution: Managing Marine Litter (November 11, 2019)
- Should We Ban Single-Use Plastics? (October 16, 2019)
- Bioplastics: A Solution to Pollution? (September 5, 2019)
- Polluting Plastic Impacts (May 16, 2019)
Podcasts
- Packaged with Care: Plastic Packaging, EPR, and the Circular Economy (August 2025)
- Conversations with Environmental Disruptors – Global Water Girls (September 2019)
Blogs
- Including Climate Impacts in the U.N. Plastic Treaty (August 2025)
- Nigeria’s Plastic Problem: A Young Lawyer's Plea for Change (August 2024)
- What Does Plastic Have to do With Climate Change? (September 2023)
- California Advances Plastic Packaging Law (August 2023)
- The U.S. Plastics Problem: The Road to Circularity (January 2022)
- Solving the Plastic Packaging Problem (January 2020)
- Single-Use Plastic Bans Bring Unintended Consequences for People Experiencing Homelessness and Developing Countries (August 2019)
- Tribal Regulation of Single-Use Plastics (April 2019)
- Talking Trash About Plastics (July 2018)
- Paper or Bio-Plastic? Innovative Packaging to Prevent Food Loss (April 2018)
Environmental Law Forum Articles
- Chemical Recycling: More Pollution? Or a Sustainability Solution for Plastic? (May-June 2025)
- Plastics Pervade the Economy and Their Harms Are Hard to Regulate (July-August 2024)
- Biodiversity, Health Concerns: Fostering Action on Plastic Waste (May-June 2024)
- We Have the Tools to Start on Plastic Pollution (March-April 2024)
- The Future of Plastic: Drawing Lessons From Speculative Fiction (September-October 2023)
- Will EPA, FTC Adopt Mandatory Actions to Curb Plastic Pollution? (July-August 2023)
- Can We Make Plastic Sustainable? (March-April 2022)
- Recycling Increases in Red States, but Blue States Still Recycle More (November-December 2018)
- Bans of Single-Use Plastics Rise in Popularity, Protecting the Oceans (September-October 2018)
- The Circular Economy in Action (January-February 2018)
- Reducing Disposable Plastic Bags in Food Stores and Other Outlets (March-April 2017)
- Plastic Bag Laws Proliferate (May-June 2013)