No global plastics treaty but what can countries do to address pollution crisis?

Governments failed to reach an agreement on Monday for a global UN treaty to curb plastic pollution in Busan, South Korea, after proposals to cap its production were rejected by a handful of oil-producing nations.

Producing plastics, from Barbie dolls to water bottles, generates large amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, while the accumulation of plastic products in the environment pollutes land and oceans.

Negotiations began in 2022 over a UN treaty that aimed to create the world’s first legally binding agreement on plastic pollution by the end of 2024 – a deadline which will now be missed after the fifth round of talks ended without a deal.

More than 100 countries supported a proposal to reduce plastic production, the most divisive issue in the talks, while petrochemical-producing nations like Saudi Arabia were only prepared to agree on a deal tackling plastic waste.

Plastic production is set to triple by 2050 and could account for 20% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to 5% in 2019, according to a report earlier this year by the US federal Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

So, what environmental impacts are caused by plastic, and how can countries address the issue?

Why is plastic a problem

Around the world, only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, according to the OECD, which predicts that global plastic waste is on track to almost triple to 1.2 billion tonnes in 2060 from 460 million tons in 2019.

Experts say the problem is particularly severe in emerging economies which lack the sophisticated recycling processes of wealthier nations.

This could be improved through schemes such as extended producer responsibility (EPR) where plastic producers are made responsible for the end of a product’s life cycle, such as by paying to cover the costs of recycling.

Ban single-use plastic?

A report by the Back to Blue initiative examined three main ways in which governments have tried to reduce plastic consumption, including EPR schemes, production taxes and bans on single-use plastics.

It found that single-use bans were the most effective, but said that if these were implemented in G20 countries without any other measures, plastic consumption would still be one-and-a-half times higher by 2050.

The world generated an additional 6 million tons of polluting single-use plastic in 2021 compared to 2019, according to research in 2023 by the Minderoo Foundation in Australia.

Steve Fletcher, a leading plastics expert at the University of Portsmouth in Britain, said there was often a “false distinction” between single-use plastics and those which are genuinely multi-use.

He said there should be bans on plastics that lack a clear purpose, are toxic and cannot be reused or recycled.

Reducing plastic use

Analysts say one of the challenges when it comes to reducing plastic consumption is how cheap it is to produce, thanks to fossil fuel subsidies.

Fletcher said more financial incentives are needed to “level the playing field” to make recycled plastics more appealing, along with taxes on virgin plastic.

Another way to reduce plastic consumption is to introduce “system-wide shifts” towards reuse, he said.

This could include making products reusable by design and creating processes - such as a sports stadium reusing cups and cutlery, much like how traditional milkmen reused glass bottles.

Need for a plastics treaty

Given the global nature of supply chains, analysts say local schemes alone may be unsuccessful to cut down on plastic, as supply chains can sidestep fragmented policies.

A global treaty could, for example, create guidance and standards to help countries decide which plastics are problematic and unnecessary.

The UN talks in South Korea were supposed to be the final round, but countries will resume talks in 2025 to attempt to get a deal over the line.

This article first appeared on Context, powered by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.