Publishes five recommendations for a circular global plastics system
[Brussels, 18 November 2024] Ahead of the final scheduled round of negotiations on an international legally binding instrument to end plastics pollution by 2040, the World Plastics Council (WPC) is calling on governments to agree to an ambitious and implementable agreement that dramatically scales-up waste management and recycling.
In advance of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC5), due to start in Busan, South Korea, on Monday 25th November, and informed by the series of high-level stakeholder dialogues the World Plastics Council has hosted throughout the INC process, it has produced five key recommendations to achieve a common framework for a circular global plastics system. These include establishing sustainable finance mechanisms, taking an application-based approach to high-leakage plastics, enabling the international trade of recyclable feedstocks, prioritising product design and acknowledging the critical role of the informal plastics sector.
Benny Mermans, Chair of the WPC, said: “Building circularity into the entire life cycle of plastics – from design to recycling to responsible end-of-life – and developing fit-for-purpose waste management systems should be the cornerstone of the agreement. Creating a system within which all plastics applications are reused, recycled, and responsibly managed, rather than discarded, is key to tackling the problem of plastic waste. The most effective way to achieve the objectives of the agreement, while maintaining the utility that plastics offer society, is to make plastic waste a commodity with real value.”
Plastics enable wind and solar power, improve the efficiency of buildings and transportation, preserve food, improve infrastructure, and make modern healthcare possible. The treaty must, therefore, recognise that we need plastics to achieve our sustainable development and climate change goals. It should also recognise that unmanaged waste is the primary driver of pollution and prioritize providing proper waste management to the approximately 2.7 billion people who lack it.
Benny Mermans added: “At the World Plastics Council we have spent the last 18 months bringing different stakeholders together to discuss how best to address one of the defining challenges of our time – ending plastic pollution. These discussions were focused on identifying common ground and solutions that are ambitious, can be implemented in practice, and enable societies in all countries around the world to continue to benefit from plastics for their development and economic growth. They also confirmed that with focus, and a sense of urgency and compromise, a successful outcome to the negotiations can be achieved.”
The final agreement should strike the right balance between global obligations and national measures. It should require countries to develop national action plans so they can deploy tailored solutions most effective for their circumstances. Mandatory recycled content targets for sectors that use plastics at the national level, for example, will increase the value of plastic waste as a circular feedstock by increasing demand for circular plastic raw materials. Those plans should have common elements and reporting requirements that hold countries accountable for tracking progress and creating the demand signals to spur investment in collection, sorting and recycling.
More detail on the WPC’s five recommendations:
- Establish sustainable finance mechanisms: mobilizing and facilitating access to the necessary finance is very important, particularly for emerging economies, and is why we support the establishment of sustainable financing mechanisms to unlock the massive investments – both public and private – required for this transition. Well-designed extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes can, for example, be used to finance the collection, sorting and recycling of materials.
- Take an application-based approach to high-leakage plastics: we support the global adoption of a decision tree assessment framework that is applied locally to identify and prevent high-leakage plastic products from becoming pollution. Unlike caps and bans, which are blunt and counterproductive measures, such an approach takes into account the societal value a plastic product has in a country and enables tailored solutions to prevent it from becoming pollution.
- Enable the international trade of recyclable feedstocks: the treaty must also ensure the ability to move plastic waste freely from countries – likely from developing to developed – that don’t have recycling and waste management infrastructure to those that do. This will drive plastics circularity, prevent pollution and help support a resilient supply chain.
- Prioritise product design: if we want plastics that are more easily reused, recycled, repaired and durable, then we need to start by designing them that way. The agreement should, therefore, provide guidance on product design that draws on existing and emerging international design principles and standards. This means setting standards for durability, pushing for national recycling targets, and empowering communities to turn waste into a resource.
- Acknowledge the critical role of the informal sector: we must also recognize the crucial importance of the informal plastics sector, which is currently responsible for managing 60% of global plastic waste collection. The agreement must recognize the significant contributions of this sector. Building partnerships between the informal sector, industry, governments, and academia is key to developing sustainable, economically viable solutions that uplift all stakeholders and foster mutual respect.
About World Plastics Council
As the voice of the global industry, the World Plastics Council promotes increased collaboration and dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders, including the plastics value chain, governments, the UN, NGOs and researchers. It advocates for policies that reduce plastic waste and drive advances in circularity across the plastics system and globally.
About the WPC’s series of high-level stakeholder dialogues
At the World Plastics Council we have spent the last 18 months bringing government and business leaders, innovators and civil society together to discuss how best to address one of the defining challenges of our time – ending plastics pollution. This included most recently the WPC 360° Roundtable on Plastics Circularity Ottawa and the “Investing with Impact” Sustainable Finance Event at UNGA week.