Subject: BFFP Newsletter 🌍 📰 : Organizations support countries’ renewed commitment to a strong Plastics Treaty, and other stories!

More than 90 countries issued the Nice Wake up Call, a Ministerial Declaration renewing countries’ commitment to end plastic pollution

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June 19, 2025

More Than 230 CSOs Support More Than 90 Countries’ Renewed Commitment to a Strong Plastics Treaty

During the United Nations Ocean Conference, more than 90 countries issued the Nice Wake up Call, a Ministerial Declaration renewing countries’ commitment to reaffirm their common ambition to end plastic pollution to protect human health and the environment, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics, as mandated by UNEA resolution 5/14.


In response, more than 230 civil society organizations and the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement have welcomed the countries’ declaration.

Diane Wilson practicing non-violent resistance at the Formosa Plastics USA headquarters. Exxon’s proposed plastic-producing complex would be constructed next door to the Formosa Plastics Plant in Lavaca Bay, Texas, that Diane previously protested – NJ, August 2024 (© Stephanie Keith / Greenpeace)

Diane Wilson Sues Rural Texas School Board Over Exxon Tax Break Decision

Goldman Prize winner and San Antonio Bay Estuarine Waterkeeper Diane Wilson has filed a lawsuit over the Calhoun County Independent School District board’s unanimous decision to enter into tax break negotiations with Exxon for a proposed $10 billion plastic-producing complex. The lawsuit alleges that the school district failed to meet public notice requirements before that meeting on April 29th.


“This wasn’t just a flaw in the process,” said Diane. “We feel it was a deliberate attempt to avoid public opposition.”


Photo Credit - Bio Vision Africa. Children in Namuwongo slum near Kampala playing near a garbage hip

Toxic Tides: Uganda’s Plastic Crisis and Its Hidden Threat to Human Health

Beneath the visible mess lies a much more dangerous and invisible threat - a growing public health crisis affecting millions of Ugandans every day. Plastic is everywhere - in our water, our soil, the food we eat, and even the air we breathe. Once hailed as a miracle of modern convenience, plastic has now become a toxic legacy, particularly in low - and middle - income countries like Uganda.

Image credit: European Environmental Bureau, 2025

Members Urge European Commission to Restrict Polyvinyl Chloride

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is toxic, polluting, and everywhere. Used since the 1950s, it harms people and the planet from production to disposal. Break Free From Plastic members are calling for action: the European Environmental Bureau and ClientEarth urged EU Commissioners to restrict PVC and its additives under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and commit to a full phase-out by 2030.

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