The Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution

At the first session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2), governments agreed to adopt a Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution. This will have specific, legally binding targets and voluntary approaches. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) convened an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop “an instrument” – the treaty – which is to be based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full lifecycle of plastic. [1]

The INC began its work in Uruguay in November 2022 with the ambition to complete the negotiations by the end of 2024 in Busan, during INC-5. However, a final agreement could not be reached, and a resumed session will take place in Geneva in August 2025 (INC-5.2).

The UK is part of the negotiations, with the UK government’s Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) taking the lead. The government has partnered with the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network to run a series of UK plastic treaty ‘dialogues’ to enable engagement on this issue. The British Plastics Federation (BPF) is part of the dialogue sessions as well as one-on-one meetings with Defra.

During the negotiations, the INC is to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution that will [2]:

• Promote sustainable production and consumption of plastics, including, among other things, product design and environmentally sound waste management through resource efficiency and circular economy approaches.
• Promote national and international cooperative measures to reduce plastic pollution in the marine environment, including existing plastic pollution.
• Promote national action plans to work towards the prevention, reduction and elimination of plastic pollution, and to support regional and international cooperation.
• Specify arrangements for capacity building and technical assistance. This includes technology transfer on mutually agreed terms and financial assistance. It is crucial to recognise that the effective implementation of some legal obligations is dependent on the availability of capacity building and technical and adequate financial assistance.
• Increase knowledge through awareness-rising, education and information exchange.

Tackling Plastic Pollution

Plastic pollution is a global issue and the impacts of it are felt across borders. Associated pollution and environmental damage from plastic pollution requires broad coalitions from nations at all levels of government. The UK has the potential to be a leading voice when it comes to much-needed international leadership and best practice innovation required to tackle the global nature of plastic-related issues.

The BPF views the UK as a frontrunner in the global plastics industry, showcasing realistic, sustainable and best practice examples that other countries could adopt and apply where possible. The UK has committed to moving the UK to a Zero Waste Economy as one of its key priorities for the environment. The UK has the opportunity, in addition to sharing best practice, to learn from others involved and assess whether to implement this within the UK.

Key considerations:

Improving Product Design and labelling

• Product design, recycled content and optimising resource efficiency (including the promotion of reuse and refill) should be established with global guidance and industry input. Developing more sustainable products for downstream users from the initial design phase should be emphasised and promoted.
• Products should be designed so that they remain as part of the circular economy for a long as possible.
• Clear labelling on plastic packaging (where viable), which is freely available, may assist in making disposal simpler for consumers which may improve the quality of feedstock for recyclers, keeping the plastic on its circular pathway.
• Knowledge sharing to create more sustainable plastic products that incorporate more recycled content and maximise recyclability should be encouraged.

Establishing National Action Plans

• Countries should support a top-down approach where National Action Plans define the tools to implement the global goal of the instrument.
• At the same time, countries should develop regionally appropriate plans to eliminate plastic waste leakage based on local circumstances and should be supported by enabling policies.
• The sharing of information and expertise should be promoted between nations to encourage best practice solutions.

Harmonising Definitions and Reporting

• Develop, with industry input, globally harmonised definitions and reporting metrics on plastics and plastic waste, using validated and harmonised methodologies (for example, internationally agreed contamination levels for international waste shipments).
• Countries should look to use existing reporting mechanisms to reduce the burden on industry, wherever possible.

Chemicals of Concern

• Chemical regulation is covered by various global systems and frameworks.
• Systems such as REACH have been managing the criteria for placing substances on the market for almost 20 years and include a vast amount of investment in testing and data.
• Other international conventions such as the Stockholm and Rotterdam conventions already address this concern too.
• Attempting to establish a new system will prove costly, is unnecessary and will not improve consumer safety.
• Agreements should not include a universal list of chemicals of concern as established frameworks already provide a mechanism to review chemicals.

Plastic products

• The agreement should not include universal lists of products for regulation and/or bans. Decisions regarding the regulation of particular types of products should be made at the national level, taking into account local circumstances and priorities, and guided by international best practices and robust science.
• Parties should share best practices and innovation through the Treaty’s governing body and advance national solutions tailored to local contexts, which promote a circular economy and are based on sound science and objective, transparent criteria.
• Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) should be undertaken and alternative products — and their environmental impact — considered.

Waste Management Capacity Building

• It is crucial to improve waste management capacities through regulatory drivers, industry commitments and cross-sector collaboration. This will also encourage much-needed investment.
• Income from Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) reforms and revenues from any relevant taxes (such as the UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax) should be invested in growing recycling capacity within the country.
• There are concerns over the export of plastic waste for recycling, especially to non-OCED countries. It is likely that some level of export will be needed while recycling capacity grows. However, this needs to be without a detrimental effect on the quality of material and it must be dealt with in an environmentally sound manner once it reaches its destination.[3] 

Technology Deployment

• The use of chemical recycling technology should be expanded, which should complement mechanical recycling to increase the circularity of plastics.
• Innovation should be encouraged to look for new solutions for plastic collection, sorting and reprocessing.

In conclusion…

An Internationally Binding Global Instrument (IBGI), and, following this, a potential Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution is a real opportunity to tackle plastic pollution at a global scale and significantly reduce leakage into the environment. The BPF supports the creation of the treaty and is committed to taking part in any relevant associated dialogues .

• The Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution needs to establish in-depth international collaboration between governments and industry, ensuring that developing countries are supported. Accordingly, the UK should be willing to share its knowledge and experience.
• The plastic industry should be a part of the discussions, assisting in the development and implementation of the treaty.
• The treaty needs to increase resource efficiency and the circularity of plastic, whilst enabling plastic to continue to play its key role in society.
• Plastic should be used where it offers the best environmental outcome from a LCA perspective or offers a valuable functional benefit that merits its use. Banning the use of plastic in certain applications without considering the impact of the alternatives does not guarantee the best environmental outcome. If the alternative does not fulfil core requirements, this can lead to further waste.
• The treaty should not seek to limit plastic production but ensure it is ultimately used in a sustainable manner. Capping or taxing production would have a detrimental impact in areas where plastic is providing a key environmental benefit (e.g. lightweighting and/or protecting products)or potentially in medical and healthcare applications.
• The Treaty should use existing chemical management systems and not seek to create lists of banned chemicals.

 

 

First Published:  May 2023

Updated April 2024

Updated April 2025

 

 

Sources

[1] UNITED (unep.org)

[2] United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme 2022 End Plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument (link here)

[3] For more information on this topic, see the BPF’s position statement ‘Exporting Plastic Waste for Recycling’.