Find out the latest about the global plastics treaty negotiations ➝
Geneva, Switzerland, February 7th – A new round of talks for a global plastics treaty (INC-5.3) happened today at the Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG) in Geneva, Switzerland, where countries agreed to elect Mr. Julio Cordano, from Chile, as the new Chair following the resignation of the previous chair Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso of Ecuador in early October of last year.
While procedural in nature, this moment carried real symbolic and practical weight. While the negotiations remain a Member-State process, the new chair will play a critical role in restoring trust, ensuring inclusivity, and steering discussions toward outcomes rooted in science, human rights, environmental health, and justice.
Now, as countries continue the momentum for the negotiations to lead us to a strong treaty that addresses the full lifecycle of plastics, Break Free From Plastic members hope this renewed phase of the negotiations will help secure more meaningful participation from right-holders and civil society.
Read our members' statements here:
Notes to the editor
About BFFP — #BreakFreeFromPlastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 2,700 organizations and 11,000 individual supporters from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the values of environmental protection and social justice and work together through a holistic approach to bring about systemic change. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain – from extraction to disposal – focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions. www.breakfreefromplastic.org.
Global Press Contacts:
Regional Press Contacts:
London, UK [September 16, 2025] - Today, Break Free From Plastic released a new report ‘Supermarket Audits: Stores' Untapped Potential in Fighting Plastic Pollution’, the first-ever global snapshot of the retail sector’s business practices in stores, focusing on their pivotal role in the global plastic pollution crisis.
From August 28 to November 15, 2024, 496 individual audits of 247 retailers in 27 countries were conducted by volunteers from BFFP member organisations, as part of the supermarket audits. Through this global citizen science initiative, BFFP found that stores are doing the bare minimum to reduce their single use plastic footprint, except where strong legislation compels them to.
These citizen science supermarket audits are inspired by BFFP’s successful Brand Audit project, which identified the world's top corporate plastic polluters over the past six years.
Here are the key findings from the report:
Supermarkets are key midstream players in the plastic lifecycle – they lie at a critical junction between producers and consumers, and have significant influence on product producers and consumer behaviour. Yet the role of the supermarket sector in plastic pollution, and its potential for positive change, has been largely overlooked.
BFFP found that a majority of supermarkets successfully prevent one type of plastic pollution by not providing free single-use carrier bags at checkout. Yet, plastic-conscious practices such as bulk dry goods sections, deposit return systems for beverage bottles, deli and butcher counters that allow customers to bring their own containers, and alternatives to plastic produce bags are rarely found in stores around the world.
The report calls on supermarkets to leverage their unique market position to implement comprehensive plastic reduction strategies – these can influence how and what consumers buy, and can reduce plastic waste generation and plastic pollution globally. Supermarkets can also drive supplier innovation and plastic reduction through ambitious targets and procurement policies, while supporting reusable packaging infrastructure, such as existing bottle deposit schemes. Supermarkets should not wait for legislation to act. In the face of the global plastic crisis, which is harming human health, the climate, and the environment, the entire sector needs to urgently address its plastic use.
As negotiations on a global plastic treaty are ongoing, this report offers critical insights into how supermarkets can do so much more in averting the plastic crisis. The study hopes to expand annually and build a comprehensive dataset with more countries and retailers to showcase the best practices and pressure supermarkets to play a proactive role in mitigating the plastic pollution crisis.
QUOTES FROM BFFP MEMBERS
Maria José García Bellalta, founder, Fundación El Árbol, Chile
In recent years, Chile has adopted significant policies, including the Plastic Bag Ban Law (2018) and the Law on Single-Use Plastics and Plastic Bottles (2021), to address plastic pollution. Yet 20 recent audits of supermarkets and convenience stores across two regions reveal that compliance is inconsistent. Large supermarkets have stopped distributing single-use plastic bags, yet many continue to sell so-called “reusable” plastic bags, which ultimately end up as waste once damaged. Smaller convenience stores still freely provide plastic bags to customers, with little to no oversight or enforcement. With Chile’s weak legislation and enforcement mechanisms, stronger and more inclusive measures are needed to address plastic pollution across establishments, accompanied by citizen and retailer education. Most importantly, effective oversight and meaningful sanctions are essential to ensure compliance and to foster real change.
Maite Cortés, Executive Director of the Jalisco Environmental Collective, Mexico.
It is very important that in supermarkets, but also in any other point of sale, consumers have access to products that come in truly circular packaging. This requires redesigning product packaging and making it returnable. As consumers, we want products that are not designed to be disposable because they cause plastic particles to migrate into food.
Daru Setyorini, Executive Director, ECOTON, Indonesia
Plastic overproduction is fueling the triple planetary crisis, and supermarkets have been flooding us with plastic-packed products. Retail chains generate up to five times more packaging waste than traditional shopping — much of it from individually wrapped foods, plastic-bottled drinks, and disposable bags. We saw some supermarkets provide reusable options, but it’s too little and there is a lack of promotion by supermarkets. We want more! We need supermarkets to lead in replacing single-use plastics with locally sourced, plant-based materials and reusable containers. Make sustainable choices accessible, visible, and affordable. We demand eco-friendly packaging in every aisle, so that every purchase moves us closer to a healthier, zero-waste future.
Edith Monteiro, Adansonia.Green, Senegal
Every aisle in the supermarket can be part of the problem or part of the solution. Choosing less plastic means choosing a healthier future.
Emma Priestland, Corporate Campaigns Coordinator, Break Free From Plastic
This first ever snapshot of global supermarket business practices clearly shows that the sector has a long way to go in preventing plastic pollution. Supermarkets around the world are heavily reliant on single-use plastics, and this overconsumption is a key reason we are in a pollution crisis today. By implementing some simple and proven measures, stores can massively reduce their plastic footprint, and help their customers avoid unnecessary plastic - good for their health and the environment!
Note to the editors:
Access the Supermarket Report & Results.
Here’s a photo bank with image credits and suggested captions to feature in your articles.
Press Contacts:
Emma Priestland, Corporate Campaigner, Break Free from Plastic: emma@breakfreefromplastic.org
About Break Free From Plastic – #BreakFreeFromPlastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 3,500 organizations representing millions of individual supporters around the world, have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the values of environmental protection and social justice, and work together through a holistic approach to bring about systemic change. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain—from extraction to disposal—focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions. www.breakfreefromplastic.org
August 4th, 2025 Geneva, Switzerland – A day before the final round of negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty starts, hundreds of citizens and civil society organisations from across the world gathered at Place des Nations in Geneva to demand an ambitious and legally binding treaty that puts people and the planet before polluters.
The demonstration, organised by Greenpeace Switzerland and the Break Free from Plastic movement, the Gallifrey Foundation and a growing coalition of environmental and social justice groups, kicked off the last phase of the UN negotiations taking place from 5 to 14 August at the Palais des Nations. Protesters wore yellow, red and orange to symbolise the urgency of the crisis and the danger posed by the unchecked production of plastic, which is overwhelmingly derived from fossil fuels.
“As host country of the negotiations on plastic pollution, we count on Switzerland to stay firm on the ambition of the future Global Treaty. With plastic production set to triple by 2050, the treaty would be bound to fail without a global target to reduce plastic production. We need to end the age of plastic to protect our health, our communities and our planet” said Joëlle Hérin, expert in consumption and circular economy at Greenpeace Switzerland.
With negotiations about to begin, civil society is calling out the role of the fossil fuel industry in undermining progress, and urging delegates to focus on upstream measures that tackle plastic production at its source.
“At the previous round of negotiations, we counted 221 lobbyists from the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries. If they had formed a single delegation, it would have been the largest at the talks, far outnumbering that of the European Union and its Member States combined (191). This overwhelming presence shows just how threatened these industries are by a strong Plastics Treaty. With Geneva being a major hub for crude oil and petrochemical trade, their numbers could be even higher this time.
Civil society has had enough of their manipulation and delay tactics. The world can now see clearly: plastics and the climate change crisis are fuelled by the fossil fuel industry. A handful of companies are impacting billions of lives. We need a robust and legally binding Treaty. Now. We are all watching”, said Laurianne Trimoulla, Communications and Project Manager of the Gallifrey Foundation.
The mobilisation marks a powerful show of unity from citizens and NGOs determined to protect human health, human rights, and ecosystems from the escalating plastic pollution crisis.
"A strong global plastics treaty isn't just about reducing pollution — it’s our opportunity to end the injustice of waste trade, ensuring that no community becomes a dumping ground for another’s excess. A meaningful treaty must close loopholes that disguise waste trade as recycling. Switzerland's plastic waste exports to Malaysia have increased significantly, 271%, from 69,820 kg in 2022 to 258,897 kg in 2024. By curbing waste trade, the plastics treaty can shift nations such as Switzerland from exporting pollution to investing in upstream solutions and taking responsibility for their own waste” said Mageswari Sangaralingam, from Sahabat Alam Malaysia.
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Notes to the editor
About Greenpeace – Greenpeace exists because this fragile earth deserves a voice. Founded in 1971 by a group of concerned citizens who sought to halt nuclear weapons testing by the United States military off the coast of Alaska, Greenpeace now operates in 55 countries and territories across the globe. Our mission is to protect biodiversity in all its forms and to address the climate crisis with the urgency it demands. We are guided by our core values of non-violence, personal accountability, independence, and a commitment to highlighting not only environmental problems but also creating practical and hopeful solutions.
About the Gallifrey Foundation — The Gallifrey Foundation is an ocean protection organisation founded in Geneva. Topics covered include, but are not limited to: plastic and related chemical pollution, shark protection, deep seabed mining, ecocide, overfishing, ocean rights, whaling. Plastic Free Campus is a free programme run by the Foundation to help schools “de-plastify” their campuses.
About BFFP — #BreakFreeFromPlastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 2,700 organizations and 11,000 individual supporters from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the values of environmental protection and social justice and work together through a holistic approach to bring about systemic change. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain – from extraction to disposal – focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions. www.breakfreefromplastic.org.
Global Press Contacts:
Regional Press Contact:
On July 23, 2025, the #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement hosted a comprehensive media briefing to provide journalists with essential context ahead of the INC 5.2 negotiations for the Global Plastic Treaty.
The online briefing featured regional policy experts who discussed country positions and negotiation dynamics of the Asia Pacific region, to help media personnel prepare for INC 5.2 coverage, and better understand how countries frame their priorities around economic development, environmental protection, and regional and international cooperation.
Asia Pacific countries sit at the epicentre of both plastic production and pollution impacts; the region's diverse economies and environmental challenges make it a key battleground in the global treaty negotiations. The negotiation outcomes will determine global standards for plastic production, waste management, and industry accountability.
The briefing also identified key challenges, including procedural issues affecting civil society access, potential delaying tactics, watered-down commitments favouring waste management over production caps, and industry influence promoting circular economy narratives over substantive pollution reduction. For a more nuanced coverage of the treaty, the policy experts and researchers on the panel urged journalists to consider a human rights-centric, fossil-fuel-free development model for the Asia Pacific.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
UN member-states are set to reconvene in Geneva, Switzerland on August 5-14, 2025 for the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC 5.2) for an international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution.
KEY QUOTES
Semee Rhee, Global Policy Advisor, Break Free From Plastic
“It's not about whether or not we will have a treaty. It's about how many countries will be courageous enough to say that we can no longer continue producing the amount of plastics we currently produce for the sake of the environment and human well-being.”
Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, Centre for Science & Environment (CSE)
“The moment to push for ambition is now. Opportunities like this don’t come often, and countries must remember who they are negotiating for; their people and our shared planet. We cannot allow a few vocal opponents to derail and delay progress. It’s time to stand firm and take a decisive step toward ending plastic pollution.”
Pinky Chandran, Asia Pacific Coordinator, Break Free From Plastic
“The plastic problem often resembles a kaleidoscope, with no single perspective illuminating the complete picture; in fact, each turn reveals a new representation. We must view the plastic problem as a tapestry, where every element is interconnected, interlinked, and interdependent. A fragmented, piecemeal approach simply won't suffice. And so there must be global binding measures to reduce plastic production, in order to tackle the plastic pollution problem, through a just transition lens”.
Siddika Sultana, Executive Director, Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO)
"South Asia is both a significant hotspot for plastic pollution and a center of innovation. To address this issue effectively, the region must shift from isolated national initiatives to coordinated regional action. A united approach—supported by enforcement, investment, and inclusivity—can establish South Asia as a leader in developing an effective global treaty on plastic waste."
Punyathorn Jeungsmarn, Plastics Campaign Researcher, Environmental Justice Foundation
“As a region, Southeast Asia is particularly affected by plastic pollution, and is increasingly becoming the dumping ground for plastic waste, misguided false solutions such as waste-to-energy technologies, and petrochemical expansion. It is therefore crucial for our representatives to stand up and put people and the planet over plastics and the petrochemical industry. Throughout the past rounds of negotiations, we have seen courageous stances from Southeast Asian countries. We hope to see those again in Geneva.”
Additional Resources:
Note: High-resolution images of spokespeople and additional background materials are available upon request. Interview opportunities with regional experts can be arranged following the briefing.
Press Contacts:
About Break Free From Plastic – #BreakFreeFromPlastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 3,500 organizations representing millions of individual supporters around the world, have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the values of environmental protection and social justice, and work together through a holistic approach to bring about systemic change. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain—from extraction to disposal—focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions. www.breakfreefromplastic.org
08 July 2025, Kuala Lumpur—Parliamentarians and civil society representatives from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam gathered in a civil society-led workshop to address the growing crisis of transboundary plastic pollution and its devastating impact on human rights across Southeast Asia. The gathering served as a platform to exchange knowledge, explore regional and national laws on plastic waste trafficking and discuss rights-based solutions within the context of the Global Plastic Treaty negotiations with the aim of fostering coordinated ASEAN action on this urgent environmental and socio-economic issue.
Edmund Bon Tai Soon, Chair and Representative of Malaysia, ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR)
Southeast Asia is the region most impacted by the pressing issue of plastic pollution, production and consumption; it is not just an environmental issue but a human rights issue. Plastic pollution affects food security, right to health, right to life. It disproportionately affects women, children and communities in environmentally fragile areas. This workshop is important in placing human rights at the centre of the plastic pollution crisis - parliamentarians, whether in government or in opposition, and with your access to the media, are important and influential.
Key Outcomes:
1. Civil society organizations (CSOs) proposed a human-rights centric joint statement to the parliamentarians, lawmakers and house representatives present;
2. Participants were able to discuss, deliberate and decide on key issues, wording and framing of the joint statement to better represent our unified voices, and have agreed to use it as a lobbying tool at the national, ASEAN and international levels; and,
3. There were suggestions on how the joint statement could be used for future lobbying, by both parliamentarians, customs officials and CSOs, and the upcoming meetings at which our demands can be articulated.
Key Quotes from Parliamentarians & the Joint Statement:
YB Datuk Willie Anak Mongin, MP of Puncak Borneo, Malaysia
This workshop has reaffirmed my commitment to advocate for a rights-based approach to environmental protection. One key takeaway is the urgent need for regional cooperation in ASEAN to strengthen plastic governance, support waste reduction at the source, and ensure that environmental policies are grounded in human rights principles. We must move beyond seeing plastic pollution as merely a waste management problem. It is a human rights issue that demands integrated solutions involving public participation, corporate accountability, and legal reforms.
Renee Co, Kabataan Partylist Representative, the Philippines
Plastic pollution is a human rights issue – and ASEAN countries are victims of multiple facets. From being treated as a “waste bin" by developed / polluter countries as they illegally transport and import trash (which sometimes include toxic or hazardous wastes) to being the target of aggressive imperialist consumerism culture, Southeast Asian countries, its citizens, and its youth bear the brunt of this struggle.
Rina Sa’adah, National Awakening Party (PKB), Indonesia
In this workshop, the parliamentarians present agreed on a very comprehensive joint statement to solve plastic pollution that will be forwarded to higher forums, both at the ASEAN regional level, and the global level. The important message conveyed through this workshop is, "The import of plastic waste from developed countries is not just a matter of recycling or circular economy, but more fundamentally it is an interference with the sovereignty of ASEAN countries. Therefore, ASEAN countries need to increase collaboration in preparing strategies to stop the import of plastic waste in the ASEAN region.
Norasate Prachyakorn, Senator, Senate of Thailand
Before I came to this meeting, I was fighting against plastic waste companies and government agencies in Thailand over corruption. What I’ve learned is the importance of cooperation. As countries, we face similar problems when it comes to law enforcement. What we all know is that we can’t do this alone — we have to work together, as a coalition, as friends, and as a region. Over the course of this one-and-a-half-day workshop, I’ve developed a strong feeling that we can do it. We can fight this together.
Access the joint statement here.
The joint statement, with due inputs from parliamentarians, customs officials and civil society organizations present at the workshop, will be used for future advocacy efforts at the local, ASEAN and international levels.
For media inquiries:
Pats Oliva: Media and Communications Manager| ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human
Rights (APHR) | pats@aseanmp.org
Devayani Khare: Regional Communications Manager | Break Free From Plastic - Asia
Pacific (BFFP-AP) | devayani@breakfreefromplastic.org
ORGANIZING PARTNERS
Break Free from Plastic (BFFP) & ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
With support from BFFP members from the Asia Pacific region:
Basel Action Network (BAN), Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center), Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP), Pacific Environment and Resources Center Vietnam (PE-VN), Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Ecological Observation and Wetland Conservations (ECOTON), BAN Toxics, and EcoWaste Coalition.
BUSAN, Republic of Korea, November 29, 2024 — A broad coalition of observer organizations held a press conference outside of the fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) to advance a plastics treaty. The organizations demanded that negotiators come together to show courage and not compromise in the final days of the negotiations.
The organizations delivered the following statement:
There are only 36 hours left of scheduled negotiations to secure a global treaty that can end plastic pollution. But right now, we see the usual low-ambition countries derailing the negotiations while the countries who have pledged ambition, such as members of the High Ambition Coalition (HAC) and who sit comfortably in the majority, are sleepwalking into a treaty that will not be worth the paper it will be written on. Negotiators are sticking with business as usual at such a crucial stage, abandoning their commitments, ignoring their principles, neglecting the science and economics in front of them, and failing those most impacted. All in the pursuit of consensus and finalizing any kind of treaty by the end of this week, regardless of how catastrophically futile it will be in addressing the worsening plastic crisis.
Contrary to their excuses, ambitious countries have the power and the pathways to forge a treaty to end the global plastic crisis. What we are severely lacking right now, however, is the determination of our leaders to do what is right and to fight for the treaty they promised the world two years ago.
A weak treaty based on voluntary measures will break under the weight of the plastic crisis and will lock us into an endless cycle of unnecessary harm. The clear demand from impacted communities and the overwhelming majority of citizens, scientists, and businesses for binding global rules across the entire lifecycle is irrefutable. The vast majority of governments know what now needs to be done. They know what measures we need and they know how they can be implemented. Negotiators have several procedural options available, including voting or making a treaty among the willing. In these final throes of negotiations, we need governments to show courage. They must not compromise under pressure exerted by a small group of low-ambition states and hinge the life of our planet on unachievable consensus. We demand a strong treaty that protects our health and the health of future generations.
Notes to the editor:
Photos from the INC-5 Day 5 Press conference are available here. Credit to Greenpeace.
Read about the March to End the Plastic Era: https://bit.ly/INC4march
Translations in French and Spanish will be available here.
Civil society groups from around the world came together in a mass mobilization at the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) for a Global Plastics Treaty in Ottawa, Canada, as well as in different satellite actions in multiple locations globally, to center the goals and values of communities most impacted by the plastic lifecycle. The march took place on 21 April 2024 (Sunday) at Parliament Hill and the Shaw Center to remind governments who exactly they are negotiating for at the INC.
These are the key demands from the civil society groups for delegates at INC-4:
March 1st, 2024, Nairobi - Today concluded the sixth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 6), bringing representatives from 193 countries to Nairobi, Kenya, to consider proposals for “Effective, inclusive and sustainable multilateral actions to tackle climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.” After a week of discussions, #BreakFreeFromPlastic members on the ground continued calling for governments to push for an ambitious Global Plastics Treaty in preparation for the fourth round of negotiations that will take place in Ottawa, Canada, in late April.
Amid concern over attempts to limit the mandate of the plastics treaty during the week, Hellen Kahaso Dena, Project Lead of the Pan-Africa Plastics Project at Greenpeace Africa, said, "A few countries are attempting to water down the already agreed language on ending plastic pollution by 2040, reducing ambition on all fronts, and denying the link between chemicals and the climate crisis. We strongly urge member states not to undermine the mandate of the Global Plastics Treaty, and show courage and ambition as we continue the negotiations in Ottawa next month." –Read Greenpeace's full statement here.
David Azoulay, Director of the Center for International Environmental Law’s Environmental Health program, responded, “we welcome the renewed commitment to engage constructively in the ongoing negotiation of an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. Unsurprisingly, the same Member States who have worked to derail and obstruct the plastics treaty negotiations resort to a backdoor effort to attempt to renegotiate the INC’s mandate. While this declaration has no legal bearing on the mandate for the INC’s work, reaffirming the mandate at UNEA-6 is a valuable political statement in the face of continued bad-faith engagement by the United States and petrostates who are trying every means to limit the ambition of the future treaty. Governments need to respect their previous commitments and listen to the independent scientists and communities around the world who are demanding ambitious action. They must right the ship ahead of INC-4 to ensure the negotiations in Ottawa do not end in failure.” –CIEL's statement is also available here.
Ana Rocha, Director of Global Plastics Program for GAIA, added, "UNEA6 was a clear representation of the world’s political complexity and imbalance. When it comes to the Plastics Crisis, a handful of countries constantly tried to isolate and reduce the significance of resolution 5/14 that originated the Plastic Treaty negotiations. Thankfully, the commitment to urgently eliminate plastic pollution across the full lifecycle of plastics was once again reinforced in the Ministerial Declaration. We leave Nairobi with hope that the upcoming fourth round of negotiations in Canada will move us towards an ambitious Plastics Treaty."
Frankie Orona, Executive Director for Society of Native Nations also commented on the UNEA 6 meeting, "we found during UNEA 6 that many oil states tried to dilute, prolong and stop any progress related to the Global Plastic Treaty INC. We have found once again, an inequitable participation when it comes to including the voices of Indigenous Peoples, Frontline communities and workers, who are disproportionally impacted by the fossil fuel, petrochemical, agriculture and chemical industry. The issues in our impacted communities should not be considered just a human health and environmental issue but more of a human rights issue."
Rahyang Nusantara, Deputy Director of Dietplastik Indonesia, said, UNEA-6 was an opportunity to create a better strategy prior to the next INC-4 towards the Plastics Treaty. During side events and side meetings I was involved in, there was a lot of conversations on plastic pollution and especially around reuse as a solution, however I noticed a lot of different interpretations of the word. Reuse is not recycling and it is not only a packaging but also a system. Success of plastic reduction measures will depend on the scaling up of accessible sustainable alternatives. Reuse systems and refills are often the most sustainable option as compared to single-use substitutions and reuse systems should be material-agnostic. I look forward to more discussions and intersessional work to ensure that Reuse is central to achieving “Resolution 5/14 End plastic pollution: towards an international legally binding instrument”
On a separate note, BFFP member IPEN celebrated UNEA's call for action to end the use of the world’s most toxic pesticides by 2035, which continues to drive the connection across environmental issues and the petrochemical impacts on human health, including pesticides and plastics.
Additional BFFP's statements will be added as they become available.
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About Break Free From Plastic – #BreakFreeFromPlastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 2,000 organizations and 11,000 individual supporters from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the shared values of environmental protection and social justice and work together through a holistic approach to bring about systemic change. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain—from extraction to disposal—focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions.www.breakfreefromplastic.org
This blog encapsulates a conversation with Ms. Xuan Quach, the Country Director of Pacific Environment Vietnam, the organisation that commissioned the thought-provoking documentary, "The Direction for Imported Plastic Waste (in Vietnamese, with English subtitles)."
It delves into the intricate layers of Vietnam's burgeoning plastic production and its consequential reliance on imported plastic waste. Through this exchange, we aim to shed light on the complexities of the plastic waste trade and ignite meaningful discourse on the imperative for change, not just in Vietnam but in other waste-recipient countries in Southeast Asia as well.
Q1. What inspired the creation of "The Direction for Imported Plastic Waste?”
A: Currently, in Vietnam, the issue of imported plastic waste is not receiving much attention. We are one of the first organizations to pay attention to this issue. However, effective communication requires materials, which are currently very scarce (or can be said to be nonexistent). Conversely, there is a significant amount of plastic waste being imported into Vietnam. For example, in 2022, over 2 million tons of plastic waste were imported, a staggering figure. Vietnam ranks second globally, only behind Malaysia.
However, campaigns regarding the import of plastic waste in other countries are very active, such as requiring the return of waste to the exporting country.
We hope to have visual materials to integrate with communication campaigns to share the current situation of imported waste in Vietnam. If the situation of importing plastic waste into Vietnam continues, domestic plastic waste will be disposed of. Therefore, we also aim to use communication about this issue to promote the incorporation of domestic plastic waste into the waste cycle, prioritizing domestic plastic waste over imported waste.
Additionally, there is another very important aspect that we want to address, which is that plastic recycling also causes serious environmental pollution, releasing many toxic substances as well as greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
Q2. Is there a shortage of plastic scrap in Vietnam? Why does it need imported plastic waste?
A: Yes, there is a shortage of plastic scrap in Vietnam. The country's demand for plastic materials, both for manufacturing and recycling purposes, exceeds the available domestic supply. This shortage arises due to various factors, including limited domestic plastic waste collection and sorting infrastructure, insufficient recycling capacity, and the growing demand for plastic products in various industries.
Imported plastic waste is needed to supplement the domestic supply and meet the demand for raw materials in Vietnam's plastic manufacturing and recycling industries. Despite efforts to increase domestic recycling rates and reduce reliance on imported plastic waste, the gap between supply and demand persists, necessitating the importation of plastic scrap. However, it's essential to note that the importation of plastic waste also poses environmental and social challenges, prompting calls for sustainable waste management practices and developing a circular economy in Vietnam.
Furthermore, according to the new production trends in the market, the demand from brands for products made from recycled plastic is also very high. However, the amount of domestic plastic waste does not meet the quantity and quality requirements. Therefore, Vietnam still has a significant demand for high-quality imported plastic waste from developed countries.
Q3. What are the main messages or insights that VZWA hopes to convey to the audience through the documentary, and how do they envision it contributing to public awareness and discussions surrounding plastic waste trade?
A: Through this film, we also aim to convey the message that ending the importation of plastic waste as soon as possible is crucial. We advocate for enhancing domestic plastic waste sorting and recycling efforts while moving towards sustainable plastic production and consumption practices. This includes design changes towards reusable and recyclable plastic products, thereby promoting a higher level of circularity. As individuals, we should reject unnecessary single-use plastic items, opt for reusable products, actively engage in waste sorting, refrain from littering, and avoid burning plastic waste.
Together, let's live responsibly towards the environment so that we can truly inhabit a clean environment where we can breathe unpolluted air, drink clean water from uncontaminated sources, consume clean food, reduce the occurrence of environmentally-induced diseases, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and alleviate extreme weather events caused by climate change.
Q4. Do you think recycling and landfills can adequately address plastic waste trade?
A: Recycling and landfilling alone are insufficient to address the plastic waste trade. While recycling helps reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills or the environment, it has its limitations. Not all types of plastic are easily recyclable, and the process itself can be energy-intensive and may produce by-products that are harmful to the environment.
Landfilling is also not a sustainable solution as it leads to environmental pollution, soil and water contamination, and greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change.
To effectively address plastic waste trade, a multi-faceted approach is needed, including:
By implementing a comprehensive approach that addresses the root causes of plastic waste generation and trade, we can work towards a more sustainable and circular economy that minimises the negative impacts of plastic pollution on the environment and human health.
* Context for Q4: This week, there has also been a fresh research publication. The study, led by Kaustubh Thapa from Utrecht University, reveals that a significant amount of European plastic waste exported to Vietnam, despite strict EU recycling regulations, is unrecyclable and ends up being dumped in the environment. The study, focused on Minh Khai Craft Village in Vietnam, highlights the detrimental impact on local communities, with toxic wastewater being dumped daily. The research underscores the contrast between European recycling efforts and the harsh realities in Global South recycling hubs, emphasizing the need for a more ethical and sustainable approach to waste trade. Thapa suggests that current EU initiatives, including the European Green New Deal and Circular Economy Actions Plan, must address these findings for a meaningful impact on the global plastic waste issue.
The research states that "Perhaps it may be better to incinerate or landfill waste in Europe than to increase recycling percentages by exporting waste and causing socio-ecological harm elsewhere. Alternatively, the EU could realise its circularity ambitions by creating ethical and trustworthy recycling facilities either abroad or within the EU."
Q5. How can a just transition be defined and implemented for labour organizations in Vietnam involved in the plastic waste trade?
A: At present, VZWA and PEVN are also concerned about ensuring a fair transition for informal labour forces, namely the scavenging workforce - individuals with low income, no social benefits, no hazardous insurance, and unrecognized within the current waste management process.
What we hope for when EPR is enforced is that this workforce will be formally recognized, ensuring their human rights and livelihoods are protected. They play a vital role in waste collection and sorting. They are also the primary workforce sorting plastic waste, distinguishing between recyclable and non-recyclable types. Therefore, if they understand the implications of imported plastic waste on domestic plastic waste circulation, they will be pivotal in ensuring more effective handling of domestic plastic waste, avoiding landfilling or incineration.
Nairobi, Kenya – The third meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3) for a global agreement to end plastic pollution concluded today at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi. Despite a mandate for a revised draft, Member States failed to reach an agreement on priorities for intersessional work ahead of INC-4, despite an 11th-hour attempt, jeopardizing significant advancements for the treaty process.
With the petrochemical influence in the treaty negotiations, including the ‘low ambition’ of a group of ‘like-minded’ plastic-producing countries, and the lack of ambition by the so-called ‘high ambition’ countries, the INC-3 concluded without concrete headway towards the mandate adopted at the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) to negotiate a comprehensive and legally binding treaty that will cover measures along the entire life cycle of plastic.
After seven days of negotiations, the INC-3 missed the opportunity to set the stage for ambitious intersessional work on any priority, including the development of targets, baselines, and schedules for an overall reduction in plastic production, as well as strict reporting mechanisms to inform and monitor compliance with a global reduction target.
Despite the disappointing outcome of this INC, some countries, particularly from the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the Africa group, strongly supported provisions on addressing plastic production, chemicals of concern, protecting human and environmental health, as well as human rights, recognizing the importance of Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, and defining the path for a just transition. However, the influence of a group of fossil fuel and plastic-producing countries overpowered these perspectives.
Member States still have an opportunity to deliver one of the most significant environmental agreements in history by the end of 2024, but chances ahead are looking more formidable than it did after INC-2, now with only two more INCs remaining. The INCs must establish a strong conflict of interest policy and reassess how to deal with the countries deliberately blocking the ambition of the negotiation process.
Daniela Duran, Senior Legal Campaigner, Upstream Plastic Treaty, Center for International Environmental Law (USA & Switzeland), said:
"INC-3 is ending with a strong call for Member States not to lose sight of the essential treaty we require: one that makes concrete and legally binding commitments to reduce primary plastics production, safeguarding human and environmental health, and prioritizing communities affected by systemic pollution. We enter the road to INC-4 with this option on the table, with wide support from countries, but with roadblocks raised here by fossil fuel interests that didn’t enable a meaningful advance.”
Jacob Kean-Hammerson Oceans Campaigner, Environmental Investigation Agency (UK), said:
“With only two INCs left and little over a year to finalise the Treaty, the path towards a strong final agreement looks treacherous. These negotiations ended with more questions than answers about how we can bridge the political divide and craft a Treaty that stimulates positive change. As always the devil is in the details, so it is crucial that ambitious states stand firm against attempts to weaken progress by some of the world’s major oil and petrochemical producers. There will be no true advancement over the next year without a much stronger focus on addressing the problem with overproduction and the world’s addiction to plastics.”
Swathi Seshadri, Director of Programs and Team Lead (Oil and Gas), Centre for Financial Accountability (India), said:
"It was also disheartening that some member states were unwilling to work towards a Treaty covering the full lifecycle... It is disappointing and unfortunate that fossil fuel extracting and petrochemical countries were not able to see the life altering impacts that petrochemicals, the feedstocks to make plastics, has on people. It is time that member states resisting upstream measures realise that they are accountable to people who live in the vicinity of toxic petrochemical plants and not only concern themselves with the benefits that a handful of corporations will make. The only way forward is to regulate plastic production and eventually phase out virgin plastics."
Ana Rocha, Director of Global Plastics Program, Global Alliance for Incineration Alternative (Tanzania), said:
“These negotiations have so far failed to deliver on their promise laid out in the agreed upon mandate to advance a strong, binding plastics treaty that the world desperately needs. The bullies of the negotiations pushed their way through, despite the majority countries, with leadership from the African Bloc and other nations in the Global South, in support of an ambitious treaty.”
Jo Banner, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Descendants Project (USA), said:
“As a Black woman in the United States who also lives on the fenceline of petrochemical companies, I have seen first hand the devastating impacts the upstream production of plastic has had on my community and other vulnerable populations. I am here in Africa, of all places, to participate in the negotiations toward our liberation from the literal chains of plastic and confront the industry that wants to keep us enslaved to it.”
Taylen Reddy, #BreakFreeFromPlastic Youth Ambassador (South Africa), said:
“African youth are rising to confront and call out the plastics industry, and all those that profit from the plastics crisis that we are facing today. We recognise that this environmental catastrophe is something that we were born into, yet we remain hopeful and confident in ourselves to shift the narrative onto producer accountability and push for the dismantling of extractivism - which has become the norm due to centuries of exploitation of the planet and her people. This includes urging the importance of kicking out polluters and all those that are at INC to further their own corporate agenda. We NEED ambitious targets to reduce plastic production NOW!”
Larisa de Orbe, Colectiva Malditos Plásticos (México), said:
“Latin America is affected by the transboundary trade of toxic plastic waste from rich countries. This instrument should not duplicate the mandate and scope of the Basel Convention, but it should fill its gaps: definitively ban the export of plastic waste, and not allow pyrolysis - or other forms of incineration, co-processing, and false solutions such as chemical ‘recycling,’ and plastic credits.”
Indumathi, Asia delegation and an affiliate of the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (AIW), India.
"At INC3, We had three demands: to recognize waste picker contributions; formally define waste pickers and the informal sector; Just Transition should be cross-referenced throughout the documents. I am happy that waste pickers were a part of the draft-making process. The Just Transition discussion is yet to happen, and if it does, I will be very happy."
Additional reactions from BFFP members and allies (including additional countries and languages) are available here.
The week in detail
Most of the INC-3 week was spent in three contact groups: (1) Contact group 1 reviewed the first two parts of the Zero Draft: Part I (Preamble, objective, definitions, principles, and scope) and Part II (Primary plastic polymers, chemicals and polymers of concerns, problematic and avoidable plastics, exertions, product design -including reuse-, substitutes, extended producer responsibility, emissions, waste management, trade, existing plastic pollution, just transition, and transparency). (2) Contact group 2 focused on the second two parts: Part III (financing and capacity building), and Part IV (National plans, implementation and compliance, reporting, and monitoring). (3) Lastly, contact group 3 discussed the Synthesis Report containing elements not discussed at previous meetings and intersessional work.
During the week, civil organizations exposed the conflict of interest within the INC-3 process, starting with the publication of an analysis of the participants revealing that 143 fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists registered for INC-3, a 36% increase from INC-2; some of whom were registered under six Member States delegations. The number of industry lobbyists was significantly greater than the 38 participants from the Scientists Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty. Earlier in the week, civil organizations also reacted to the formation of a “like-minded” group emerging among some plastic-producing countries.
The INC-3 agreed that the next round of negotiations (INC-4) will be held in Ottawa, Canada, on 21 - 30 April 2024, and INC-5 in Busan, Republic of Korea on 25 November to 1 December 2024. Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdiviezo (Ecuador) was confirmed as Chair for the rest of the INC process.
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Notes to the editor
About the video: Ahead of INC-3, #BreakFreeFromPlastic movement, young people, civic society and allies march on the streets of Nairobi calling for drastic reduction in global plastic production.
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About BFFP — #BreakFreeFromPlastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 2,700 organizations and 11,000 individual supporters from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the values of environmental protection and social justice and work together through a holistic approach to bring about systemic change. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain – from extraction to disposal – focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions. www.breakfreefromplastic.org.
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