“That the onus is on you, the consumer, to recycle more. What they conveniently neglect to mention is that recycled plastic can be more hazardous than virgin plastic.”

Forrest said he believed a fee, coupled with other cost recovery measures and public funding, could finance the transition away from plastic production and further research into the long-term health effects.

The Fortescue mining boss said the need for a polymer premium was backed by research from the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development).

“It’s a small cost to these multinational chemical companies which can then be used to build waste management systems, assist waste workers to transition to new jobs, clean up past pollution and fund critical human health research to build understanding of the harm from plastic chemicals,” he said.

“We must address the problem at its source.

“It’s rare to have the opportunity to comprehensively right a wrong inflicted on the planet and us.”

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The push comes just weeks after global environmental consultants Eunomia published new research, funded by Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s $8 billion philanthropic arm Minderoo Foundation, exploring how a polymer premium could help bankroll the treaty’s implementation.

The study was commissioned after a separate analysis estimated a shortfall of between $350 billion and $500 billion in the funding required to implement the pact.

Instead of governments being required to bridge that gap, the research suggested the fee — which equates to just 10¢ per kilogram of plastic produced — could be used to close the financing gap.

The polymer premium would work alongside EPR (extended producer responsibility) fees, which would unlock upfront finance for the collection, sorting and treatment of plastics once at the end of the lifecycle.

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The research also comes just weeks after the philanthropic organisation launched a global advertising campaign detailing the human health effects of plastic production.

In August, an Australian review partially funded by Minderoo found plastic-associated chemicals were linked to various health conditions, from heart disease, diabetes, and endometriosis to damaged sperm and even low IQ.

Since its inception in 2001, Minderoo’s initiatives have grown to span early childhood education, research into plastics and ocean pollution and work against modern slavery, as well as providing humanitarian aid in Gaza and Ukraine.