Negotiators Discuss Text of Global Treaty to End Plastic Pollution

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The delegates of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) converged in Ottawa to discuss the text of the proposed global treaty to end plastic pollution. This is the fourth of the five scheduled meetings to formulate the treaty. The INC had commenced its works in the second half of 2022, aiming to complete the negotiations by end-2024. The earlier sessions were held in Punta del Este, Uruguay; Paris, France and Nairobi, Kenya.

According to Stewart Harris, spokesperson for the International Council of Chemical Associations, the members prefer to have the treaty focus on recycling plastic and reuse. The governments play a key role in implementation of the treaty. The private sector too has an important role, he added.

Bethanie Carney Almroth, an ecotoxicology professor at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg refuted the allegation that there is no enough data on microplastics, saying that approximately 21,000 publications on micro and nanoplastics are already available.

The summit was also attended by several members from communities impacted by plastic manufacturing and pollution. These include residents of Louisiana and Texas, living near petrochemical plants and refineries. They called upon negotiators to have a firsthand experience on air and water pollution in the region.

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