By Sharon Atieno
The world is on the verge of acquiring an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution if talks taking place in Korea are successful.
More than 430 million tonnes of plastics are produced annually. Two in three of these are short-lived products that become waste. Overall, 46 percent of plastic waste is landfilled while 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter.
As the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop plastic pollution instrument, including in the marine environment (INC-5), unfolds, the aim is to conclude negotiations and finalize the text of the agreement.
The session, scheduled from 25 November to 1 December, aims to finalize and approve the text of the instrument with the Chair’s Non-Paper 3 as the foundation to facilitate negotiations in focused contact groups throughout the week.
The Chair’s Non-Paper 3 was developed by the INC Chair, Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso. It draws on the previous non-papers (informal documents) shared in other INC meetings containing views, proposals and suggestions.
There have been four rounds of negotiations: INC-1, which took place in Punta del Este in November 2022, INC-2, which was held in Paris in June 2023, INC-3, which happened in Nairobi in November 2023, and INC-4, held in Ottawa in April 2024.
The Chair’s Non-Paper 3 collates areas of convergence among delegations while outlining elements for further discussion of unresolved issues.
In the issue of plastic products and chemicals of concern used in plastic products, delegations have agreed on the need to manage plastic, including the elimination from the market of some products, and the avoidance of certain chemicals of concern in plastic products, as being essential in protecting the environment and human health from plastic pollution.
However, the Chair notes that many national and regional initiatives globally have eliminated some plastic products and banned some chemicals of concern in their manufacture, or are restricting their use, but these efforts are fragmented.
Additionally, countries do not share the same legal and administrative structures or national circumstances, that would allow for a “one size fits all” approach to plastic products, including with regard to certain chemicals of concern as used in plastic products.
Thus, he proposes an initial list or lists of plastic products to be controlled to be featured in one or several of the treaty’s annexes. Establishing criteria to identify additional plastic products or chemicals of concern used in plastics, and additional steps to cover product design, reuse, recyclability, and non-plastic substitutes and alternatives.
In the issue of plastic product design, the Non-paper encourages each Party to take measures to promote enhanced design and performance of plastic products, as well as transparency, including with respect to their chemical composition, taking into account relevant international standards and guidelines.
It also encourages them to foster research, innovation, development and use of sustainable alternatives and non-plastic substitutes, including products, technologies and services, taking into account the best available science, traditional knowledge, knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and local knowledge systems and their potential for waste reduction and reuse, as well as their environmental, socio-economic, and human health impacts across their life cycle.
With regards to supply, the Chair recommends acknowledging the need to manage the supply of primary polymers to achieve sustainable levels of production and consumption of plastics through their life cycle. He also encourages Parties to take measures to promote sustainable production and consumption of plastics throughout their life cycle.
He recommends Parties to cooperate to achieve a global objective of sustainable levels of production, report on the production of primary and secondary plastic polymers and decide on the need for further action at a later meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP)-a governing body of an international convention majority being Member States representatives.
On the emissions and releases issue, the Non-paper recommends that each Party should take measures to manage, reduce, and, where possible, eliminate emissions and releases to the atmosphere, soil, water and marine environment from the production, storage, transportation, use and end of life management of: chemicals of concern as used in some plastic products, plastic pellets, flakes and powder from the supply chain; microplastics during the production of plastics, microplastics and nano-plastics during use of products.
It notes that in implementing its obligation to achieve this, each Party shall take into account, as appropriate, relevant international rules, standards, and guidelines.
Additionally, it says the COP shall, at its first meeting, adopt guidance on best available techniques and best environmental practices on preventing emissions and releases into the environment, as well as guidance, including, where relevant, on a sectoral basis, to facilitate implementation of the set out obligations.
In plastic waste management, the Non-paper suggests that each Party should take measures, including, where relevant, through a sectoral approach, to ensure that plastic waste is managed in an environmentally sound manner. This includes taking into account the waste hierarchy and relevant guidelines developed under the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, and in accordance with any guidelines that may be adopted by the COP to this Convention.
Each Party is encouraged to take additional measures including promoting investment in, and mobilising resources from all sources for, waste management systems and infrastructure that enables environmentally sound management of plastic waste and enhances waste management capacity. Establish systems at national and local levels for handling, sorting, collection, transportation, storage, recycling and treatment of plastic wastes. Encourage behavioural changes throughout the value chain and raise public awareness about plastic waste prevention and minimization, taking into account the critical roles of all stakeholders in reducing plastic litter and supporting recycling.
They are also encouraged to incentivize increased recyclability, promoting higher recycling rates, and enhancing the accountability of producers and importers for environmentally sound management of plastics and plastic products throughout their life cycle, including by the adoption and implementation of approaches such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes; while promoting, developing and strengthening markets for secondary plastics.
The Chair suggests that each Party should take measures to ensure that the export of plastic waste is only allowed for the purpose of safe and environmentally sound recovery, reuse, recycling, or disposal with the written consent of the importing Party or non-Party.
Where export of plastic waste is allowed, the exporting Party should provide to the importing Party or non-Party complete information about the composition of the waste proposed to be exported, including its contents in polymers, chemicals and plastics, and any associated hazards to human health or the environment, including safety data sheets, as relevant.
Additionally, the exporters are required to comply with generally accepted and recognized international rules, standards and practices for packaging, labelling and transport.
In the issue of just transition, the Chair suggests that Parties should cooperate to promote and facilitate a transition towards sustainable production and consumption of plastic, taking account of the situation of workers in the informal sector, including waste pickers, Indigenous Peoples and populations.
In the issue of finance, including establishment of a financial mechanism, the Chair noted that there should be a definition for a mechanism for the provision of financial and technical support. This will enable Parties with limited capacity to implement the legal obligations.
The mechanism, he suggested, could include one or more funds; be operated by one or more entities; include entities providing multilateral, regional and bilateral financial and technical assistance; as well as contributions from the private sector. The financial mechanism, he points out, will provide new and additional resources to the existing efforts.
With regards to capacity building, technology assistance and transfer, including international cooperation, the Non-paper recommends that Parties, within their respective capabilities, should cooperate to provide timely, and appropriate capacity-building and technical assistance to developing country Parties, particularly least developed country Parties and small island developing State Parties, to assist them in implementing their obligations.
It adds that the development, transfer, diffusion of and access to technologies to tackle plastic pollution should also be environmentally sound. This includes technologies related to the collection, sorting, processing, and recycling of plastic waste, as well as alternative materials and non-plastic substitutes.
It also suggests that parties should ‘promote and facilitate’ research, innovation, and investment in the pursuit of environmentally responsible technologies and solutions, as well as facilitate access to essential technologies.
Gaps that have been highlighted in the Non-paper include the lack of explicit text to ban and phase out the most harmful plastic products and chemicals of concern; a similar lack of clarity on whether product design requirements will be mandatory, and not just encouraged; and the level of funding that countries need to commit and how such resources will be disbursed.
Additionally, there are concerns that the current proposal could allow a single Party to veto any future decisions by the treaty’s governing body. This can result in a stagnant and dead treaty, incapable of adapting to changing developments and circumstances in the future.
More than 3,800 participants have registered to participate in INC-5 – the highest number of the five meetings – representing more than 170 countries and over 600 Observer organizations.
