Five aspects of plastic polluting are worth focusing on

Plastic pollution is one the most serious threats to the Earth and has a profound impact on the environment. 

According to a recent Stockholm Resilience Centre report, the production of plastics increased by 79% between 2000-2015. The total mass of plastics on the planet is now twice over the mass of all living mammals, and roughly 80 per cent of all the plastics ever produced remain in the environment, the study  noted. 

According to the joint report, there has been an increase in voluntary initiatives and regulations over ten years to address plastic pollution. Convention on Plastic Pollution – A new global agreement for plastic pollutionReleased by the Environmental Investigation Agency and Centre for International Environmental Law, Break Free From Plastics. Over the past 10 year there has been an increase of voluntary initiatives and regulations that address the problem of plastic pollution. 

Between 2018-2020, 10 formal prepositions have been submitted by parties, regional group members and stakeholders of United Nations Environment Assembly. These prepositions concern a global tool to address the mammoth threat. 

Plastic pollution is not constrained by geographic boundaries and regional barriers. This makes it crucial to have a legal instrument to address the problem at a global scale. The Stockholm convention and Basel convention addressed specific issues like persistent organic pollutants and transboundary movements. They failed to consider the entire plastic lifecycle. 

It is therefore crucial to have a legally binding agreement / treaty/ convention on plastic that considers the entire value chain, starting with the extraction of fossils and ending with the disposal options like incineration or co-processing. 

This will enable all stakeholders to understand the upstream and midstream of the plastic value chain, identify the challenges, and take appropriate measures.

UNEA and Plastic

UNEA was founded in June 2012 when world leaders urged for UN Environment to be strengthened during the United Nation Conference on Sustainable Development. The establishment the Environment Assembly was the culmination of decades of international efforts that began in 1972 with a goal to create a system of environmental governance. 

UNEA has always focused its efforts on plastic waste management on micro-plastics and marine plastic debris. 

After the virtual session, the fifth meeting (UNEA 5.2), will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, February 28, 2022. 

What should UNEA 5.2 discuss?

The global plastic treaty stage is still in its infancy. It is crucial to steer the conversation in a positive direction and hold the right stakeholders accountable. Five aspects should be the focus of the global plastic legal instrument:

Minimization should be practiced and not just preached.All environmental laws around the globe mention the importance of minimizing plastic waste. Because the basic principles of waste management apply to every country,

The best and most effective way to manage waste in the first place is to reduce its production. Regulating the production of plastics that are harmful should be a greater priority.

Plastic packaging is a key issue. However, there is a shift from rigid to flexible plastics that is increasing the number of single-use plastics and making it more difficult to recycle. Plastic production needs to be controlled in terms both of the application and the sector it can be used.

Use of legal tools in a responsible manner: Most waste management activities are funded by taxes collected from citizens. Cities and regions are allotting a higher budget year after year to collect, transport and treat plastic waste, all with the help of taxpayers’ money. EPR should become legally mandated. This includes tools such as plastic taxes and deposit refund schemes.

It is important to communicate that we are tired of voluntary schemes that are used as a branding tool and communication tool by multinational corporations to brand them as green. The EPR mandate should also be extended for companies that produce plastic (petrochemical companies). This would make a big difference in the downstream and midstream. 

Promote closed loop recycling by standardization and design innovation: Development of standard mono layer plastic which are easy to recycle and are used across the industry should be pushed and promoted for standardisation. Composite plastic material should be avoided as much as possible.

Further innovation can be focused on making reusable packaging/refillable bottle so they stay in the value chains for a longer time and are more likely to get recycled. Closed loop recycling should be a priority.

Transparency and data availability through continuous reporting in standardised formatsWaste management data is scarce, and plastics is no exception. Stakeholders don’t ask the right set of questions to each other. Communication is given more weightage that the qualitative data being shared.

Each stakeholder should receive a list of fundamental questions to be put out in public to ensure accountability. Each country should develop a mechanism to verify and share the data, as well as a mechanism for sharing.

Support for better waste managementThe basic and overall waste management in a region can be affected by a variety of factors, including financial funding, capacity-building, and technology transfer. Economies in transition need to be supported with all the resources they need to manage their solid waste more effectively. This will eventually reduce the environmental burden.