Have plastics co-opted the circular economy?

Last year, multilateral negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty broke down after countries failed to agree to limits on plastic production - as opposed to simply regulating plastic waste. 

This distinction between 'upstream' and 'downstream' measures to tackle plastic pollution is a point of contention between industry and campaigners, with the plastic lobby favouring recycling advocacy over efforts to curb plastic production. 

Alasdair discusses this issue with Dr Rob Ralston, who researches the different stakeholders within the industry lobby, and the ways in which this bloc has co-opted formerly radical policy frameworks, such as the idea of 'circular economy', to delay major policy interventions. 

Rob Ralston is a lecturer in Public Policy at the University of Edinburgh, and an expert in global health and environmental politics.

Further reading: 

• Click here for our other podcasts and articles on plastic pollution on Land and Climate Review. 
• 'Ultra-processed foods are a key driver of the global plastics pollution crisis', Nature Food, April 2026
• 'The battle for plastic hegemony: the petrochemical historical bloc and the UN Global Plastics Treaty', Review of International Political Economy, March 2026
• Plastics, Profits and Power: How petrochemical companies are derailing the Global Plastics Treaty, Greenpeace, 2024
• The Fraud of Plastic Recycling, Center for Climate Integrity, 2024
• 'Future-Proofing Capitalism: The Paradox of the Circular Economy for Plastics', Global Environmental Politics, April 2021

Click here for our website to read all our most recent Land and Climate Review features and pieces.