Plastic pellets are a major source of upstream plastic pollution globally, with devastating impacts to human health, the environment and livelihoods. The International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution (also known as the UN Global Plastics Treaty) is an opportunity to end plastic pellet pollution across the globe and throughout supply chains. The inclusion of plastic pellets (nurdles) in a final Global Plastics Treaty is essential to prevent more pellets entering the environment and it could allow for the global uptake of working solutions.
The second part of the fifth session of negotiations for a treaty (know as INC-5.2) took place in Geneva, Switzerland from 5th to 14th August 2025. These negotiations were intended to represents the final round of negotiations for a global plastics treaty.
Ahead of the INC5.2 negotiations, an updated Chair’s text was released, reflecting the outcomes of INC5. This document formed the starting point of negotiations at INC5.2, as governments worked to finalize the text and move closer to a final treaty.
Disappointingly this latest round of negotiations for a UN Global Plastics Treaty (INC5.2) concluded without consensus between nations on a final treaty.
Read our news bulletin to learn more about the outcomes of INC5.2 and what the next for a plastics treaty.
Our asks
NGOs came together to call on governments to deliver a robust treaty which addresses plastic pellets. Fidra, EIA and Fauna & Flora developed a briefing outlining key asks to end pellet pollution:
Eliminate Pellet Loss: Through legally binding measures and effective guidance adopted by the Conference of the Parties (COP) which ensures that each Party obligates all pellet handlers and operators across the full pellet supply chain to meet international, standardised requirements for handling, packaging and transport of plastic pellets across the supply chain.
Verification and Reporting: Ensure the COP adopts mandatory verification of measures to prevent pellet pollution and transparent reporting mechanisms that detail all pellet losses and spills throughout the supply chain.
Remediation and Disaster Response: Enable the COP to develop and adopt guidelines, including pellet clean ups, disaster response protocols and equitable access to remediation in the event of pellet loss.
Compensation: Facilitate a financial mechanism for compensation that operationalises the Polluter Pays Principle with respect to terrestrial and marine pellet loss and spills.
Safe, Circular & Responsible Production: End overproduction of plastic and enable a transition to a safe and circular plastic economy through elimination of harmful chemicals and chemicals of concern and adopting transparent identification and traceability of chemical additives across the plastic pellet lifecycle.
Webinars
Watch our latest webinar “Plastic pellets and the Global Plastics Treaty: key insights ahead of INC 5.2” below.
Watch all past UN Global Plastics Treaty webinars here