Plastic Pollution Could Trigger $20 Billion in Payouts (1)

Litigation could cost the plastics industry and its insurers $20 billion in the US over the next eight years, according to a report backed by the United Nations and an Australian billionaire.

Companies including petrochemical and consumer goods firms may be liable for the cost of cleaning up plastic pollution, while emerging legal pathways to claim for the harm to society threaten to add to their corporate liabilities. Beyond 2030, legal claims “could be an order of magnitude larger.”

The report from Australian mining tycoon Andrew Forrest’s nonprofit, Minderoo Foundation, is the first time lawyers and data analysts ...