Plastic recycling in focus as countries meet in Paris for treaty talks

Ahead of the talks starting Monday in Paris, many countries have said a goal of the treaty should be “circularity” – or keeping already-produced plastic items in circulation as long as possible.

The U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP) hosting the talks released a blueprint for reducing plastic waste by 80% by 2040. In the report, issued earlier this month, it outlined three key areas of action: reuse, recycling and reorientation of plastic packaging to alternative materials

Some environmental groups criticized the report for focusing on waste management, which they saw as a concession to the global plastics and petrochemicals industry.

“Real solutions to the plastics crisis will require global controls on chemicals in plastics and significant reductions in plastic production,” said Therese Karlsson, science advisor with the International Pollutants Elimination Network.

Under a new group called Global Partners for Plastics Circularity, the industry has put mechanical and chemical recycling at the center of its position.

November in Uruguay, countries set an ambitious deadline of having a legally binding treaty agreed within a year.

As yet, delegates were still deciding on the treaty’s core objectives – including whether some plastics should be banned and ways to improve waste management.

Countries also have yet to resolve key issues including methods for financing policies as well as how policies would be implemented and reported on.

This week, dozens of countries were listing public health as one of their priority concerns in limiting plastics production and waste. The UNEP report also identified 13,000 chemicals associated with plastic production, more than 3,000 of which were considered hazardous.