In August 2025, in Geneva, delegations from all continents negotiated for ten days a global treaty against plastic pollution. They left without an adopted text. As of October 3, 2026, the United Nations Environment Programme still indicates that no treaty has been concluded.
Meanwhile, bags, lines, and cans remain on the seabed. What can a diver do, concretely, without fooling themselves?
Here we have sorted the actions that help, those that matter little, and those that require caution.
Where does the plastic you encounter while diving come from?
It mainly comes from land: packaging, bottles, bags, and disposable items carried by wind, rivers, or stormwater systems. Added to this are lost or abandoned fishing gear, such as nets, lines, and traps, which end up snagged on rocks and wrecks. Microplastics almost always escape the eye.
The chosen site greatly changes what you see.
However, the amount of visible waste says little about the real state of a site, because a port, a closed bay, or a wreck near a fishing area accumulates debris much more than a slope swept by currents offshore. Ghost nets are the most visible example. They continue to trap fish and crustaceans after being lost. No reliable figures have been found on their number in the French Mediterranean, and it is better not to invent one. In short, the plastic we see is only part of the problem.
Microplastics: what exactly are we talking about?
The NOAA calls microplastic any piece of plastic less than five millimeters, roughly the size of a pencil eraser. They are born from the fragmentation of larger waste, industrial pellets lost during transport, and microbeads added to some beauty products.
You will not pick them up.
Thus, the useful action happens beforehand. Polyethylene microbeads were used as exfoliants in scrubs and hygiene products, and they passed through water treatment plants before reaching the sea and the Great Lakes, which led the United States to ban them in cosmetics by a law signed on December 28, 2015. France and the European Union have since adopted their own restrictions. Still, read the ingredient list of your shower gel. Synthetic fibers that detach from clothes during washing pose a similar question, more difficult to solve on an individual scale.
For the rest, research is advancing faster than certainties, and we refrain from giving you a number of particles per liter of seawater, as results vary greatly from one study to another.
What to do concretely during a dive?
Only pick up what detaches effortlessly, without touching the reef and without losing your buoyancy. A closed mesh bag, attached to your vest, is enough. What is stuck, sharp, colonized by fauna, or too heavy stays in place: you note the position and inform the club upon surfacing.
To choose the bag, see our article on the diving mesh bag for collections.
However, a can at the bottom of a port sometimes serves as shelter for an octopus or a blenny. Turn it over gently. If someone occupies it, leave it where it is. Ghost nets require even more caution, as a net can entangle a regulator, a fin, or a valve, and its removal requires a trained team, cutting tools, and a dive planned for that purpose. Your role stops at reporting. It’s frustrating, we know.
Same restraint for an old tire or a bottle on which coral has grown: removing the object would destroy the colony that has settled there.
And the easiest waste to avoid remains the one you do not lose, so secure your octopus, your light, and your slate.
A cleanup dive, how does it work?
It is organized with a club, which sets the site, depth, duration, and the role of each pair. The collected waste is then sorted and counted, as this count, sent to a program like Dive Against Debris from the PADI AWARE foundation, launched in 2011, is then used by researchers and managers.
The steps to join an action near you are in our guide to cleanup dives and local ecological projects.
However, a cleanup dive remains a dive. The bag that fills up changes your balance, your head looks for debris instead of monitoring your air, and your buddy may drift away without you noticing for several minutes. For a recent diver, it is better to choose a shallow area and a simple role. Carrying the bag, for example. Gloves protect against sharp edges, provided the site allows them.
Citizen science does not stop at waste, and our article on the role of citizen divers presents other programs open to all levels.
Which actions outside the water really matter?
Those that prevent plastic from reaching the sea. Less disposable packaging on the boat and while traveling, a reusable bottle instead of plastic water bottles, and bringing your waste back home when the island where you dive does not have a reliable collection system. These actions may seem small, but they act at the source.
Equipment matters less than is often said.
But labels like “recycled” or “biodegradable” are multiplying on wetsuits, bags, and bottles. Many so-called biodegradable plastics are designed for industrial composting, and their behavior in seawater remains poorly understood. Keeping your equipment for a long time and having it repaired when possible probably matters more than replacing it every season with a “green” version. That is our opinion. Impossible to quantify from here. Choosing a club that limits disposables on board and reminds its rules at the briefing also has an effect, modest but real.
Regarding wildlife, the rules of a respectful dive of marine life complement these actions.
Where does the global plastic treaty stand?
It does not exist yet. On March 2, 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly launched negotiations for a legally binding instrument covering the entire lifecycle of plastic. Several sessions later, including the one in Geneva in August 2025, UNEP reports no adopted text.
The previous version of this article mentioned nearly 200 countries signing agreements against plastic, which corresponds to nothing verifiable.
Meanwhile, rules come from states and regions. The United States banned microbeads in cosmetics in 2015, the European Union has restricted several single-use plastics, and each country sets its marine reserves and collection rules. For a diver, this changes little about the daily action. It changes the context. A treaty signed in a few years will not remove nets already caught in wrecks, and collection bags will remain useful for a long time.
The concrete cost for you is minimal: a mesh bag on your vest, a few minutes of sorting after the dive, and a bit of attention during your dive, adjusted according to your level.
FAQ
Can I pick up any waste during a dive?
No. Only pick up what detaches easily and without touching the reef. A stuck, sharp, inhabited by an animal, or coral-covered object stays in place, and you report its position to the club.
What should I do if I see an abandoned fishing net?
Do not remove it alone, as it can entangle your equipment. Note its position, take a photo if possible without risk, and notify the club or local authorities.
What is microplastic?
According to NOAA, it is a piece of plastic less than five millimeters. It comes from the fragmentation of larger waste, industrial pellets, or microbeads added to some cosmetics.
Is the global plastic treaty signed?
Not as of October 3, 2026. Negotiations were launched in March 2022 and the Geneva session in August 2025 ended without an adopted text, according to UNEP.
Sources
- What are microplastics? (NOAA National Ocean Service, updated in 2026)
- Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (UNEP, accessed in 2026)
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