Breaking the Plastic Wave: Why Transparency is Key to Turning the Tide

In 2020, the world received a wake-up call on ocean plastic pollution. The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Breaking the Plastic Wave report found that, without action, the annual flow of plastic into the ocean would nearly triple by 2040. Five years later, the alarm is ringing louder. 2025’s report reveals that despite rising global awareness and policy efforts, plastic pollution has increased by 21% since the original study.

However, the report also provides a credible, evidence-based roadmap on the way forward. Annual plastic pollution can be cut by 83% by 2040, but only if we undertake a total system transformation across the value chain. This will involve measures such as reducing production, improving design and expanding waste management systems.

Yet none of this is possible without transparency. Accurate disclosures enable governments to design effective policies, helps organizations identify risks and opportunities in their supply chains, and empower investors to direct capital towards new businesses and innovations in the circular economy.

The cost of "business as usual"

Plastic use – already widespread across many sectors – is growing. The unsustainable production and consumption of plastics have far-reaching consequences that affect the climate, health, poverty and biodiversity. If we continue with business as usual, the consequences will be severe.

Without action, by 2040:

• Pollution will drastically increase: Annual plastic pollution is projected to more than double from 130 million to 280 million metric tons by 2040 – the equivalent of nearly a garbage truck of waste per second.

• Production will overwhelm waste management capacity: Plastic production is projected to grow 52% – nearly twice as fast as projected waste management capacity.

• Health risks will soar: Health impacts associated with plastic production and waste management will increase by 75% by 2040, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities and workers globally – particularly in countries where burning plastic in open air without any pollution controls is common.

• We won’t meet the Paris Agreement: If plastic production were a country, by 2040 it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, behind only China and the USA. If left unchecked, plastic-related greenhouse gas emissions will surge by nearly 60% from 2025 to 2040.

A full lifecycle approach

System-wide failures are at the root of plastic pollution. We produce and consume more plastics than can be adequately managed. We are also designing plastics with components, additives and polymers which hinder reusability and recyclability, or contain harmful chemicals.

So far, we’ve struggled to find solutions. Policy has failed to stem overproduction and consumption. And just 2% of investments are allocated to the circular economy.

Breaking the Plastic Wave 2025 outlines a way forward. System transformation doesn't rely on a single silver bullet, but rather a combination of reducing production, substituting materials and expanding recycling.

Remarkably, this scenario could result in an 83% reduction in overall plastic pollution by 2040. This includes cutting microplastic pollution by 41% by 2040 and virtually eliminating pollution from plastic packaging, decreasing it by 97% by 2040.

To achieve this, four strategic pillars have been identified:

1. Establish measures to reduce plastic production and use: Cutting primary production to sustainable levels, designing for recyclability, recycled content and durability, and scaling up reuse.

2. Rethink chemical, plastic product and system design: Designing to protect human health and the planet, reducing microplastic pollution, and simplifying recycling.

3. Expand participatory waste management systems: Scaling waste collection, sorting and recycling while empowering the millions of waste pickers who currently collect and sort over three-quarters of all recycled plastic, and increasing socio-economic and cultural benefits alongside environmental goals.

4. Unlock transparency of the plastic supply chain and its impacts: Disclosing data on plastic production, manufacturing, and the chemicals and additives used or disposed of across the supply chain

Why disclosure is the foundation of transformation

The plastic industry lacks transparency across the value chain. As a result, Governments, brands and consumers are often kept in the dark as to how much plastic is being produced, the chemicals involved, and the associated environmental and health impacts.

To transition to a circular economy, stakeholders – including corporates, financial institutions, governments, civil society and NGOs – need access to comparable, consistent and granular data.

Disclosure is a catalyst for change. For example, over 16,000 chemicals used in plastic products are potentially harmful to human health, yet we lack data for most of them. If we don't know the chemical makeup of a bottle or toy, we cannot redesign it to make it safer.

However, through CDP’s Scaling Plastics Disclosure initiative – in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts, The Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF), Minderoo Foundation and WWF – voluntary corporate reporting is gaining momentum. From 2023 to 2025, plastics disclosure increased by 44%, with 4,262 companies disclosing their plastic risks and impacts in 2025.

CDP’s plastics disclosure questions cover the full lifecycle of plastics – from value chain mapping, production and consumption, through to the recyclability, reusability and end-of-life waste management.

Taking an integrated systems approach, our questionnaire also asks corporates to assess their current plastics risks, impacts, dependencies and opportunities, and value chain engagement – acknowledging that plastic impacts do not happen in silos.

In addition, we are continuously improving our question bank to simplify reporting, improve granularity of key metrics, and ensure alignment with voluntary and regulatory standards – including EMF’s Global Commitment by 2027.

From reporting to action

The call for mandatory reporting is louder than ever. We know that when companies disclose data through standardized platforms, they unlock the ability to spot supply chain bottlenecks and demonstrate to investors how they are building resilience and adapting to risk.

There are also financial opportunities to be found in acting now. The Breaking the Plastic Report found that implementing return- and refill-based reuse systems at scale would support US$570 billion in annual private sector spending by 2040. Additionally, reimagining the plastic system would support 8.6 million additional jobs and create new business opportunities.

But we cannot simply wait for regulations to catch up before acting. In the absence of a finalized United Nations Global Plastics Treaty, which failed to find a consensus last year, voluntary reporting is the critical engine keeping system transformation alive.

When companies disclose through CDP, that data enters a living ecosystem that redirects the financial flows needed for the circular transition. It gives national policymakers the evidence they need to evaluate what is working, ensuring countries can meet their future legal commitments. Essentially, voluntary disclosure today builds the baseline for the Global Plastics Treaty of tomorrow.

Turning on the lights

Think of the current plastic system like a supermarket, where every product is sold in a black box without an ingredients list or a price tag. We are buying products that may harm us, creating waste we cannot afford to manage, and relying on a system we do not fully understand. Disclosure is the act of turning on the lights, labelling the boxes, and ensuring that everyone – from the manufacturer to the consumer to the recycler – knows exactly what they are handling.

Disclosure of plastics is not merely an administrative checkbox; it is a mechanism that underpins all the other strategic pillars for systems transformation. Only then can we safely close the loop.