Plastics Treaty: Major strides made as countries race to tame plastic pollution

The road towards developing a Plastics Treaty kicked off in March 2022 when the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) was tasked with convening an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop the instrument. The legally binding agreement is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic, including its production, design, and disposal.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly high-level week, UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen said progress has been made towards achieving the treaty, with all UN member states involved in the conversations. 

According to Andersen, negotiators have already agreed on certain regulations, while they still hold divergent opinions on a few others. 

“There are certain areas where we are beginning to see convergence ….. there are other areas where we are still working on,” said Andersen. 

The UNEP chief noted that negotiators have agreed on the need to develop global obligations for plastic products which will either be product or design based. In addition, the experts have noted the need to establish a scientific body to offer technical advisory towards realising the objectives of the Plastics Treaty. 

Andersen also highlighted convergent opinions on the establishment of tax to deal with waste management and recycling. This would also give guidelines on dealing with legacy pollution and a reporting framework. 

However, the head of UNEP noted divergent views from member states when it comes to production caps as in the reduction in production of raw polymer. 

“There is also a conversation about global plastic fee…sort of tax. It has merit but it is very hard to do. Whether or not we will get a plastic fee or tax is still in discussion but it might take a bit longer,” said Andersen. 

The Executive Director also noted contrasting views on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), where some countries call for a global EPR while others believe it is practical to have national legislation on EPR. 

Community involvement towards ending pollution 

While legally binding documents such as the Plastics Treaty aim at eradicating plastic pollution, communities act as the first point of action to achieve the global goal. 

Waste pickers, when organized and formally integrated into recycling systems, form the core of this community as they can increase their contribution to environmental protection.

Andersen insisted on a full transition towards environmental preservation without leaving key players such as waste pickers behind. Today, the globe records nearly 20 million waste pickers. 

“When I speak with waste pickers, many of them aspire to have a system whereby they do house to house collection as opposed to garbage coming in one big mess.” 

She added that the waste pickers are the go-to people to actualise waste segregation 

“When we meet waste pickers globally that is what they want. For that to happen, governments need to put some basic ordering system. Let us work on dealing with the waste before it gets dumped,” Andersen said. 

The UNEP boss advocated for conversations with consumer goods producers to find other ways of delivering product. 

“There are things that God has already wrapped for us, like oranges…bananas, there is no need to put them in plastic bags.”

In Kenya, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) recently unveiled a proposed National colour-coding system for waste disposal. 

The colouring of waste bags is in a bid to ensure proper disposal and recycling of waste. 

In its proposal, NEMA outlines that green bags will be used for organic waste, blue for recyclable waste and black for general waste.