Delegates from some 175 countries are in South Korea this week, for the fifth round of the U.N. Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meetings, aimed at agreeing on a treaty to curb plastic pollution.
Four previous meetings have concluded without agreement, however the chair of the committee, Luis Vayas Valdivieso, has indicated that he is confident that progress will be made in Busan over the coming days.
Ahead of the talks, a number of campaign groups, including EA Earth Action, and campaigners, A Plastic Planet and the Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL), have called for a ‘comprehensive’ reassessment of global plastic production.
‘Band-aid solution’
“Relying on recycling to address the plastic crisis is not enough,” commented Julien Boucher, founder of EA Earth Action. “The current rate of plastic recycling barely scratches the surface. The complexity of plastic materials and poor infrastructure mean most plastic is never truly recycled. Without reducing overall plastic production, recycling will continue to be a band-aid solution that cannot stem the tide of plastic waste.”
According to data by Earth Action, 28kg of plastic waste per person is generated globally, amounting to 220 million tonnes per year, while the group has also projected a rise of nearly ten percent (7.11%) of global plastic waste generation between 2021 and 2024.
An opportunity
Elsewhere, Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet, said that the entire packaging consumption model needs to be reimagined, with the current plastic crisis representing a “gateway for us to catalyse innovation, reduce plastic use, redesign products, and think way beyond trying to give this toxic material one more use, one more life, when we know, it is so damaging to nature and to all life.
“But imagine the materials and products we will create next; durable, beautiful, performance materials that are truly circular, the opposite of our current take, make, waste systems. And the good news? So many are available already.”
Need for detoxification
David Azoulay, director of CIEL’s Environmental Health Program, pointed to the negative effect that plastic has on the environment and human health throughout its life cycle.
“We must address these concerns head-on. Relying on recycling and continued plastic use will only prolong these health risks,” he said. “We first need to reduce our dependence on plastics. And for the plastic that we will still need, we need to fully detoxify the plastic supply chain. Without such a detoxification, the only circularity we are looking at is a circularity of harm and toxic impacts.”
Finally, plastic-free sportswear brand Mover added that reducing the use of plastic in our everyday lives by 60% would represent a ‘realistic goal’.
“On a personal level, we can all achieve this from one day to the next, by taking simple steps to reduce our use of plastic and synthetic materials. It is a question of mindset,” commented Nicolas Rochat, Mover’s founder.
“The recycling issue diverts attention from the root problem: the overproduction of plastic. According to the OECD, measures to promote plastic recycling will result in a tripling of global plastic production and therefore of toxic emissions that affect human health and the environment. In areas where alternatives can be developed, we need to embrace them and encourage others to do the same. Because recycling plastics means recycling the problem.”
The proposed UN Global Plastics Treaty would represent the world’s first comprehensive effort to regulate plastic, with objectives ranging from curtailing production, to banning specific chemicals and establishing ambitious recycling targets. Read more here.
