Key Takeaways
The fifth UN conference on plastic pollution ended in South Korea without an agreement because some countries want to stop or reduce plastics production while others want to concentrate on the proper use and recycling of the waste stream.
Plastics are an essential part of modern life, and when used properly contribute to convenience, sanitation, medical purity, and safer food storage.
Some parts of the world, notably Asia, have few systems in place to foster reuse and waste reduction so plastics follow rivers to the sea, creating floating plastic masses.
Major producers of plastics and plastic feedstocks, including Saudi Arabia and China, contended that the intent of the treaty was to reduce the misuse, rather than the outright volume, of plastics sought by many of the Western nations.
The Biden-Harris Administration decided this summer to switch positions in favor of reducing the production of plastics as part of its mission to end the use of fossil fuels, the feedstock for plastics.
The fifth session of the “Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution” took place from November 25 to December 1, 2024, in Busan, South Korea with over 170 countries attending what was supposed to be the final session of the group. The task was to develop a global plastics treaty to reduce waste from plastics. However, no treaty was forthcoming, and talks will continue next year. The primary issue at hand was whether the treaty should aim to reduce overall plastic use and impose global, legally binding regulations on the toxic chemicals involved in plastic production. The greatest differences between countries arose over proposals regarding problematic plastics and chemicals, the production of plastics, and the funding of the treaty. While more than 100 nations support measures to limit plastic production and focus on cleanup and recycling, some major plastic-producing and oil-rich countries resisted these terms, preferring an emphasis on reuse, recycling, and addressing the plastic waste central to modern economies. For the treaty to be finalized, it requires unanimous agreement from all nations.
For instance, Saudi Arabia argued that tackling plastic pollution shouldn’t necessarily mean restricting plastic production, asserting that chemicals and production processes shouldn’t fall under the treaty’s purview. As the world’s leading exporter of primary polypropylene, a common plastic, Saudi Arabia is heavily invested in the petrochemical sector, with its state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, planning to direct nearly one-third of its oil output to plastic production by 2030. Kuwait echoed this view, emphasizing that the goal should be to address plastic pollution rather than reduce plastic use itself. They warned that broadening the treaty’s focus beyond its initial mandate could undermine trust and the core objectives of the agreement.
Nonetheless, there was agreement on certain aspects of the treaty. Countries broadly supported provisions to redesign plastic products for easier recycling and reuse, to invest in improved plastic waste management, and to enhance recycling rates. Additionally, there was consensus on the need for a financial mechanism to help countries meet the treaty’s requirements.
Background
In March 2022, 175 nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution by the end of 2024. The resolution states that nations will develop an international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic.
Global Plastics Production
More than 360 million metric tons of new plastic are produced yearly worldwide. Plastics production doubled between 2000 and 2019, from 234 to 460 million metric tons. Without policy changes, it is expected that plastic production could increase to 736 million metric tons by 2040, up 70% from 2020, and triple by 2050. Recycled plastics are expected to continue to make up just 6% of all plastics produced in 2040, although the range of products recycled is expanding, and includes fabrics such as polar fleece. Three countries, China, the United States, and Germany, led the global plastics trade by exports and imports in 2023.
Over the last 15 years, China has played a key role in fueling global plastic demand. Despite the introduction of bans on single-use plastics starting in 2019, China was responsible for half of the 15 million metric tons of new production capacity added between 2019 and 2021. Sinopec, one of China’s largest companies, plans to build additional facilities through 2027, which will add more than 5 million metric tons of capacity annually. While China’s growth in production is expected to decelerate, the country still leads half of the top 20 companies set to expand their virgin polymer capacity by 2027. A significant portion of the plastic waste that ends up in the world’s oceans originates from Asia, primarily due to improper dumping into rivers that flow into the sea. In contrast, the U.S. contribution remains minimal, thanks in large part to widespread public education and robust systems for proper plastic disposal and recycling.
Biden-Harris Position on Plastics
Originally, the United States was in favor of having countries develop their own plans, but the Biden-Harris administration changed its position this summer, opening the option of considering global targets for reductions in plastic production. The Biden-Harris administration also supports creating a global list of chemicals and setting global criteria to identify those chemicals that should be considered “avoidable plastic products” to phase out.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently released a national strategy to prevent plastic pollution with many of the measures being voluntary. The strategy has six main objectives that address plastic pollution throughout the lifecycle of plastic products: reduce pollution from plastic production, innovate material and product design, decrease waste generation, improve waste management, improve capture and removal of plastic pollution, and minimize pollutants discharged and impacts to waterways and the ocean. Part of the objective to decrease waste generation is to reduce the production and consumption of single-use plastic products.
The Biden-Harris administration also plans to phase out the use of single-use plastics from all federal operations by 2035, with a target to stop federal procurement of such plastics for food services, events, and packaging by 2027. This policy will affect a wide range of federal facilities, from park concession stands to military feeding operations. The new goal would supposedly be met by selecting reusable, compostable, and highly recyclable products instead of single-use plastics in food service. In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration phased out single-use plastics in national parks and public land.
Limiting plastics production and use is consistent with the Biden-Harris Administration’s opposition to oil and natural gas, from which plastics are made. The Administration has taken over 250 actions designed to make it more difficult or impossible to create more oil and gas. Since plastics are a building block of modern economies, focusing on visible plastic waste for which the United States and other advanced countries are not primarily responsible would assist the Biden-Harris Administration in its stated goal to “end fossil fuels.”
Conclusion
Plastics use has increased enormously as people discover new ways to utilize its unique properties to make a plethora of useful products. Plastics are used in many industries from health to food storage. They are made from fossil fuels, primarily oil, so many Western countries want to eliminate them. In 2022, countries agreed to produce a treaty to reduce plastic waste. But negotiations on a treaty to end plastics pollution have concluded in Busan, South Korea without reaching an agreement. Some countries want to expand the mandate to reduce or eliminate single-use plastics and to end the use of hazardous chemicals in plastics production while plastic-producing and oil-producing countries want to focus on eliminating waste and improving recycling.
