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Plastics treaty must tackle problem at source, researchers say
NAIROBI, KENYA
Hundreds of environmental activists marched in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Saturday demanding drastic curbs on plastic production, ahead of a meeting to negotiate a global plastics treaty.
The researchers, in a new Science journal, say the plastic treaty must prioritise issues such as cutting total production and consumption of plastics.
This is in addition to phasing out hazardous chemicals and tackling fossil fuel subsidies.
“The new Global Plastics Treaty must tackle the problem at source,” the researchers said.
There will be an International negotiation meeting (INC-3) next week that aims to further develop a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution.
In the journal, the researchers highlighted a worrying level of focus on downstream recycling and waste management.
They said the true solution must address the full life cycle of plastics.
According to the researchers, the treaty must be holistic, with more focus on early interventions and the people, places and ecosystems most impacted by plastic pollution.
Dr Mengjiao Wang from Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter said currently, a lot of attention and capital is focused on recycling and cleaning up plastic already in the environment, in many cases just after a single use.
“That is vital work, but it can only be part of the solution, and only if done in a safe, environmentally sound and socially just way. Removing the mess while making more is a doomed strategy. We cannot recycle our way out,”she said.
“An effective treaty must be holistic, covering everything from fossil fuel extraction and plastic production to recycling and removing waste that already pollutes our land and ocean.”
Currently, downstream recovery and recycling receives 88 per cent of investment money, while just four per cent is directed to upstream reuse solutions.
The authors said this imbalance comes from “fossil-fuel-entwined political economy of plastics”, which continues to accelerate production, consumption and waste.
This further adds to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
The researchers said the zero draft of the treaty disproportionately emphasises waste management investment and neglects opportunities for more efficient and cost-effective upstream strategies like reduction, redesign and reuse.
Plastic treaty must prioritise issues such as cutting total production and consumption of plastics
“The new Global Plastics Treaty must tackle the problem at source,” the researchers said.
There will be an International negotiation meeting (INC-3) next week that aims to further develop a legally binding treaty on plastic pollution.
In the journal, the researchers highlighted a worrying level of focus on downstream recycling and waste management.
They said the true solution must address the full life cycle of plastics.
According to the researchers, the treaty must be holistic, with more focus on early interventions and the people, places and ecosystems most impacted by plastic pollution.
Dr Mengjiao Wang from Greenpeace Research Laboratories at the University of Exeter said currently, a lot of attention and capital is focused on recycling and cleaning up plastic already in the environment, in many cases just after a single use.
“That is vital work, but it can only be part of the solution, and only if done in a safe, environmentally sound and socially just way. Removing the mess while making more is a doomed strategy. We cannot recycle our way out,”she said.
“An effective treaty must be holistic, covering everything from fossil fuel extraction and plastic production to recycling and removing waste that already pollutes our land and ocean.”
Currently, downstream recovery and recycling receives 88 per cent of investment money, while just four per cent is directed to upstream reuse solutions.
The authors said this imbalance comes from “fossil-fuel-entwined political economy of plastics”, which continues to accelerate production, consumption and waste.
This further adds to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
The researchers said the zero draft of the treaty disproportionately emphasises waste management investment and neglects opportunities for more efficient and cost-effective upstream strategies like reduction, redesign and reuse.
- The researchers highlighted a worrying level of focus on downstream recycling and waste management
- They said the true solution must address the full life cycle of plastics
Representatives of more than 170 nations will meet in Nairobi Monday to negotiate what concrete measures should be included in a binding worldwide treaty to end plastic pollution.
Marchers waved placards reading “Plastic crisis = climate crisis” and “End multigenerational toxic exposure.”
They chanted “let polluters pay the price” as they walked slowly behind a ceremonial band from central Nairobi to a park in the west of the capital.
Nations agreed last year to finalize by 2024 a world-first U.N. treaty to address the scourge of plastics found everywhere from mountain tops to ocean depths and within human blood and breast milk.
Negotiators have met twice already but Nairobi is the first opportunity to debate a draft treaty published in September that outlines the many pathways to tackling the plastic problem.
The Nov. 13-19 meeting is the third of five sessions in a fast-tracked process aiming to conclude negotiations next year so the treaty can be adopted by mid-2025.
At the last talks in Paris, campaigners accused large plastic-producing nations of deliberately stalling after two days were lost debating procedural points.
This time around, the sessions have been extended by two days but there are still concerns a weaker treaty could emerge if time for detailed discussion is swallowed up going in circles.
Global plastic production has more than doubled since the start of the century to reach 460 million tons and it could triple by 2060 if nothing is done. Only nine percent is currently recycled.
Microplastics have been found everywhere from clouds to the deepest sea trenches, as well as throughout the human body.
The effects of plastics on human health remain poorly understood but there is growing concern among scientists.
Plastic also contributes to global warming, accounting for 3.4% of global emissions in 2019, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.