Feature

Recent UN action is regarded as a seminal moment in the battle to prevent plastic waste polluting the

land and seas – by David Holes GREEN Thinking Thinking 2022 2022 2022

The world is producing twice as much plastic waste as it was 20 years ago, with the bulk ending up in landfill, incinerated or leaking into the natural world, according to a recent report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Shockingly, only 9% is currently successfully being recycled, with 22% evading waste management systems entirely and ending up in uncontrolled dumps, burned in open pits or simply discarded as litter. To date, 75% of all plastic ever produced has become rubbish, and volumes are rising rapidly.

In 2019, 6.1 million metric tonnes of plastic leaked into aquatic ecosystems, with 1.7 million of those flowing into the oceans. It’s estimated that there are currently 30 million tonnes in the seas, with a further 109 million having built up in rivers. This accumulation in waterways ensures seepage into oceans will continue for decades to come, even if mismanaged waste is halted today.

In the marine environment, it threatens around 700 species, with plastic presently found in the guts of over 90% of the world’s sea birds, in the stomachs of more than half of all sea turtles and in the digestive tracts of many whales. By 2050, there will be more plastics relative to fish in the oceans if action to tackle the crisis is not taken.

Plastic is not just harmful to animals. It breaks down into microparticles, enters the human food chain and potentially leads to multiple health issues across global populations.

A PACKAGING PROBLEM

Most plastics in use today are virgin – or primary – having derived from crude oil or gas. And while progress has been made in terms of reducing the amount produced through the use of recycled material, the total percentage being reused is still woefully low. There’s currently a general acceptance that we can’t just recycle or dispose our way out of this kind of pollution – demand for the raw product must be drastically reduced.

As the OECD has emphasised, the main contributors to the problem are not applications in which plastics remain in use for many years, such as in furniture and building materials. Instead, two-thirds of plastic waste is accounted for by products used for fewer

9% Percentage of all plastic currently successfully recycled

than five years. Key culprits include textiles, consumer products and packaging. The latter represents the largest market for plastics, with demand from this sector predicted to double over the next two decades.

In addition, it typically has a very short ‘in-use’ lifetime – not even six months. Yet less than 2% of the plastics used in packaging is currently recyclable, with the rest regarded as ‘single-use’ and particularly problematic. Consequently, packaging is the dominant generator of plastic waste, responsible for 46% of the global total.

SIGNIFICANT INTERNATIONAL ACTION

The enormous scale of the issue has prompted action at the highest levels. In March of this year, attendees from 175 nations at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) unanimously voted for a resolution to end plastic pollution.

Until now, a number of systemic barriers have hindered progress:

• Voluntary initiatives have laid important foundations, but lack sufficient support and scale to drive real change. • The current regulatory landscape is not particularly ‘joined up’, often failing to cover the full plastic value chain or tackle the fundamental problems. • The lack of harmonised data at global, national and business levels limits the ability to monitor progress and evaluate the effectiveness of current measures. • Gaps exist in critical markets which lack the capability, basic infrastructure and systems to keep plastic in circulation after initial use.

The UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Director Inger Anderson has stated the resolution could be the most important multilateral pact for the world since the ratification of the Paris Agreement in 2015. Like the Paris Agreement, while the new treaty will be legally binding, it will still be up to individual countries to introduce their own laws to meet any set targets. The treaty negotiation process is expected to conclude at the end of 2024.

There had been concern from environmental groups that assembly attendees might opt for an agreement which didn’t require nations to act on the production side of the process. Thankfully, this did not happen, with UNEA stating all countries will need to act on every part of the plastics life cycle, including design, production, manufacturing, logistics, use, re-use and end-of-life management. There is also a desire to ensure all products and materials should be “re-used, remanufactured or recycled and therefore retained in the economy for as long as possible”.

BUSINESS PLAYS ITS PART

The case for a UN treaty is clear as it would benefit companies as well as the environment, establishing a level playing field across the plastic value chain and accelerating industry transformation. This would be achieved by:

• Helping to reduce operational complexity and compliance risk across markets. • Enabling businesses to plan investments, while managing the costs. • Simplifying data reporting, bringing greater transparency and better methods of measuring progress. • Coordinating actions across the plastic value chain, improving the prospects for meeting ambitious corporate commitments.

The reputational harm to brands that fail to act is equally obvious, particularly with an increasing amount of regulation now coming into force.

In a notable show of solidarity, 80 brands, financial institutions and NGOs have recently announced a common vision to support the treaty. The newly launched ‘Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty’ is convened by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The Foundation already operates the Plastics Pact Network – a globally aligned response to the plastic problem, enabling vital knowledge sharing and coordinated action. It integrates tailored national and regional initiatives,

The mandate agreed by UN member states opens the door to a legally binding treaty that deals with the root causes of plastic pollution, not just the symptoms

Percentage of plastics used in packaging that is currently recyclable 2%

bringing together key stakeholders to eliminate unnecessary and problematic packaging through redesign and innovation.

Specifically, the Network drives a move away from single-use, ensuring all plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable.

Ellen MacArthur herself sees the new treaty as a key moment in the effort to deal with the problem of plastic on a global scale. She says: “The mandate agreed by UN member states opens the door to a legally binding treaty that deals with the root causes of plastic pollution, not just the symptoms. Critically, this includes measures considering the entire life cycle of plastics, enabling opportunities to design out waste before it is created, as part of a thriving circular economy.”

The Business Coalition regards the upcoming UN deal as the key policy mechanism to accelerating much-needed progress in the reduction of plastic production and the prevention and remediation of micro- and macro-plastic leakage into the environment.

It will develop ambitious policy recommendations, engage with the treaty negotiators, and bolster confidence in the business community on the benefits of an effective agreement which sets common goals, rules and obligations to be implemented by national jurisdictions. This means creating equal opportunity and preventing a patchwork of disconnected solutions.

PLASTIC MANAGEMENT

All the criticism and the environmental impact aside, plastic is a material with exceptional properties and can even be preferable when taking into account a product’s life cycle. However, its very durability presents a problem when it leaks from the value chain and becomes pollution persisting in nature for many years.

Hopefully, strong UN action backed by committed business coalitions can reduce our reliance on plastic and prevent it from contributing to an environmental catastrophe.