The UN Environment programme (UNEP) has unveiled a first draft of the UN Global Plastics Treaty yesterday (4 September).
The draft states countries should for the “prevention, progressive reduction and elimination of plastic pollution throughout the life cycle of plastic by 2040” through a “comprehensive” approach that addresses all parts of the lifecycle.
Individual nations of the UNEP will be required to “manage and reduce” the global production of plastic by developing “nationally determined targets” and taking “necessary measures to achieve them.”
Subscribe to Sustainability Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest sustainability news sent straight to your inbox everyday
City to Sea policy manager Steve Hynd said the Global Plastics Treaty draft is a “potential gamechanger.”
“By embedding reuse targets governments can give the private sector the confidence it needs to be both move to existing refill and reuse systems but to also invest in the research that’s needed to mainstream reuse in packaging,” he added.
“For the UK to stake a claim a real global leader in this process they should now set, in conjunction with the devolved administrations, an ambitious and legally binding reuse target just as other countries like France have already done,” continued Hynd.
Greenpeace USA global plastics campaign lead Graham Forbes said that while the Global Plastics Treaty includes “necessary provisions to reduce plastic production and use,” governments need to negotiate an “ambitious treaty” that turns off the “toxic plastics cap.”
The draft will be negotiated by governments at the next Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting scheduled for November in Nairobi, Kenya.
