International Discussions to End Plastic Pollution: What It Means for Waste and Resource Management
SWANA is advocating for supporting collections and resource management domestically and internationally.
SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): What could an international treaty to prevent plastic pollution look like? That is the big question as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) meets in Geneva, Switzerland for the sixth session of its Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) with the goal to develop a legally binding agreement to prevent plastic pollution in the environment.
I recently attended INC-5.2 pre-events in Geneva on behalf of SWANA and met with key stakeholders, including representatives from the US and Canadian delegations. Tensions have been high on whether to include caps on plastic production, whether to phase out certain materials, how financing mechanisms will work, and how prescriptive the agreement should be, among other topics. Despite the disagreements, there is hope that an agreement will be reached this week.
What Came Before and Where are We Now
Every year 19-23 million tons of plastic waste leaks into aquatic ecosystems, causing pollution in waterbodies, according to the UN. In response to this crisis, the UN Environment Assembly passed a resolution in March of 2022 calling on the UNEP to convene an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of country delegates to develop a comprehensive international approach to prevent plastic pollution, addressing the many stages of plastic production, design, and management.
Since late 2022, the negotiators from 180 countries have met multiple times, with the goal to reach an agreement by the end of 2024. INC-5 held in November of 2024 was intended to be the last round of negotiations but ended without consensus due to procedural delays and disagreements on agreement specifics, to the disappointment of many participating countries and outside stakeholders.
This led to the current extension of negotiations, INC-5.2 in Geneva. After INC-5 ended without an agreement as planned, there is some doubt going into INC-5.2 that this will be the final round, but many key stakeholders have expressed their desire to reach an agreement this round, and entered the week with optimism that an agreement could be reached. Now that the negotiations are further along, there is doubt as to whether this will be accomplished.
The INC is working from the document known as the Chair’s Text, organized into 32 articles, each with a different area of focus on actions countries should take. Negotiators are working line-by-line through the text with the goal to reach a final agreement through consensus.
How May this Impact You?
While there is currently much uncertainty about the specifics of a final agreement, and differing opinions on how the strength of final commitments, the results will ultimately impact plastic materials flows and markets.
Language in the draft text covers aspects ranging from product design and banned materials to setting national recycling rate targets and promoting behavior change. Ultimately, the implementation of the treaty aspects will come down to the individuals and organizations that manage recycling communications, collections, and sorting, and those that provide the equipment, software, training and technology to do so.
The waste and resource management sector has a vital role in preventing plastic pollution, and will be eventually impacted by the treaty, but the sector is not always well-represented in these discussions compared to representatives from other stages of the plastic life cycle. In an effort to correct this imbalance, SWANA has actively participated to be a voice in the room, representing its members. SWANA is advocating for supporting collections and resource management domestically and internationally.
Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com