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single use plastic
More Than Two-Thirds of UN Members Embrace Global Plastic Pollution Treaty--But Not the US
"Support for a global treaty on plastic pollution is a critical action that the Biden administration can take to correct the wrongs of the Trump era."
Nov 15, 2020
Despite being one of the world's biggest contributors to plastic pollution, the U.S. has so far shown no signs of joining an international treaty aimed at stopping plastics from flowing into the world's oceans and other natural habitats--leaving the country in a small minority as more than two-thirds of United Nations member states signal that a treaty is forthcoming.
At a virtual conference attended last week by the U.N.'s working group on ocean pollution and microplastics, countries in Africa, the Pacific, the Baltic region, and throughout Europe confirmed that they are open to signing a treaty aimed at sharply reducing marine plastic pollution and potentially all plastic waste.
\u201cYet again, with an environmental agreement - this one on #plasticpollution - it is the US that is the holdout. Although I have heard that the UK is trying to get Kenya to drop its ban on single use plastics in order to develop a trade deal. https://t.co/h6Ms5Lm3WI #ClimateAction\u201d— Simon CHIN-YEE (@Simon CHIN-YEE) 1605530193
The U.S. was joined by the United Kingdom in declining to participate in the treaty, although the two countries are the biggest per capita plastic polluters in the world. British environmental minister Zac Goldsmith is expected to announce soon whether the country is open to a new treaty or to strengthening the existing international framework governing plastic pollution, while the Trump administration has indicated it is not open to a global treaty on plastics.
\u201c@ZacGoldsmith @DefraGovUK do the responsible thing for our global ocean and sign us up, please!\u201d— Hannah Rudd (@Hannah Rudd) 1605520004
"Support for a global treaty on plastic pollution is a critical action that the Biden administration can take to correct the wrongs of the Trump era," Tim Grabiel, senior lawyer at the Environmental Investigations Agency (EIA), toldThe Guardian on Monday. "Over the last four years, we have continually encountered opposition from the Trump administration to truly address plastic pollution, slowing down progress and watering down international efforts. We are hopeful that, with a change in leadership at the top, the U.S. will join its allies and support a global treaty on plastic pollution at [the U.N. Environmental Assembly's 5th conference]."
The EIA has called for a legally binding global agreement including four pillars to combat plastic pollution from all sources. The group says any treaty ultimately agreed upon by U.N. countries must include:
- Monitoring and reporting on the state of plastic pollution and each nation's progress toward a "circular economy" in which plastic leakage into the environment is kept to a minimum
- Prevention of plastic waste through bans on single-use plastic products and restrictions on plastic production
- Coordination between existing anti-plastic pollution frameworks including the 2001 Stockholm Convention, under which countries agreed to limit or ban the use of certain toxic chemicals including some used in plastics, and the 1989 Basel Convention, which aimed to reduce hazardous waste production and the transboundary movement of such waste
- Technical and financial support for developing countries from wealthier countries
The U.N. Environmental Assembly concluded in 2017 that the Stockholm and Basel Conventions are "fragmented and ineffective" as they are currently implemented, according toThe Guardian. The U.S. is only a party to the Basel Convention.
The assembly is currently expected to meet in Kenya in February 2021 for its fifth conference, or in 2022 if the summit is postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Even without the participation of the U.S. and U.K., the EIA called the commitment of a majority of U.N. countries to a new treaty "heartening."
"Maintaining the status quo is not only untenable, it would have catastrophic implications for planet Earth," Christina Dixon, senior ocean campaigner at EIA, toldThe Guardian.
Global plastic pollution efforts implemented so far are expected to reduce plastic pollution by just 7%, while the oceans are expected to be inundated with 29 million metric tons per year by 2040--triple the amount the currently flows into marine habitats annually.
As the U.N. working group was meeting last week, the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) circulated a petition--signed by two million people so far--calling for a global anti-plastic pollution treaty.
\u201c\ud83e\udd64More than 11 million metric tons of plastic is flowing into the ocean each year. We are drowning in plastic, but we can resurface. World leaders urgently need to vote for a UN treaty to tackle this crisis. Now is the time to call for a #PlasticPollutionTreaty.\u201d— WWF (@WWF) 1605011945
"We are drowning in plastic, but we can resurface," the WWF tweeted. "World leaders urgently need to vote for a U.N. treaty to tackle this crisis."
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Canada's Plan to Ban Single-Use Plastics Welcomed as 'Step in the Right Direction'
A Greenpeace campaigner said the country ultimately "needs to move towards phasing out all non-essential plastics" for sake of the planet
Jun 10, 2019
Environmental campaigners on Monday welcomed the Canadian government's new plan to ban certain single-use plastics as early as 2021 and work with provinces and territories to make corporations responsible for their plastic waste.
"Ultimately Canada needs to move towards phasing out all non-essential plastics if we are going to truly reduce the awful plastic legacy we are leaving for future generations of all life on this planet," Sarah King of Greenpeace Canada said in a statement. "The federal government's announcements marks the first step in an essential journey to break free from plastic."
\u201cA step in the right direction! \ud83d\udc4f It's time for Canada to take bold action in order to tackle the plastic waste crisis. #BreakFreeFromPlastic #PlasticFreeFuture #JustBanIt \nhttps://t.co/bDiXrz63e5\u201d— Greenpeace Canada (@Greenpeace Canada) 1560184063
Food & Water Watch executive director Wenonah Hauter, who also praised the plan in a statement, said that "bans on single-use plastics will help address the growing threat of microplastics in our food, water, and air--the health effects of which are unknown. They also send a powerful signal that the world does not welcome more climate-damaging fracked gas to create plastic."
Pointing to a Food & Water Watch report released last week that detailed how the petrochemical and other industries help drive fracking for natural gas, Hauter explained that "there is a symbiotic relationship between plastic manufacturing and the fracking industry. Any regulation that curbs one industry will help decrease pollution from the other."
A statement Monday from the office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described widespread plastic pollution as "a global challenge that requires immediate action" and outlined the broad goals of the government's plan. Across Canada, people throw away more than 3 million tons of plastic waste per year, and about a third of all plastics are single-use items like straws and shopping bags.
"Canadians know first-hand the impacts of plastic pollution, and are tired of seeing their beaches, parks, streets, and shorelines littered with plastic waste," Trudeau said. "We have a responsibility to work with our partners to reduce plastic pollution, protect the environment, and create jobs and grow our economy. "We owe it to our kids to keep the environment clean and safe for generations to come."
\u201cCanadians are tired of seeing our beaches, parks, streets, and shorelines littered with plastic waste. Learn more about the action we\u2019re taking to ban harmful single-use plastics: https://t.co/GZBt0K10Nt #BeatPlasticPollution\u201d— Justin Trudeau (@Justin Trudeau) 1560175075
Trudeau's government intends to work with political and business partners throughout the North American country to:
- ban harmful single-use plastics as early as 2021 (such as plastic bags, straws, cutlery, plates, and stir sticks) where supported by scientific evidence and warranted, and take other steps to reduce pollution from plastic products and packaging; and
- work with provinces and territories to introduce standards and targets for companies that manufacture plastic products or sell items with plastic packaging so they become responsible for their plastic waste.
The prime minister spoke about the plan in a speech Monday at the Gault Nature Reserve in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, outside Montreal. CBC reported:
Trudeau said the government will research the question of which items it should ban and follow the model chosen by the European Union, which voted in March to ban plastic items for which market alternatives exist--such as single-use plastic cutlery and plates--and items made of oxo-degradable plastics, such as bags. (Oxo-degradable plastics aren't really biodegradable; they contain additives that cause the plastic to fragment without breaking down chemically.)
Greenpeace Canada--noting that the government's statement mentioned a few specific single-use products that may be banned--called for phasing out all "problematic and unnecessary plastics," including PVC, bags, bottles, straws, utensils, expanded polystyrene, cups and lids, multilayered wrappers, and take-out containers.
"We know the science and real-world evidence is clear that single-use plastics and waste is toxic, infiltrating food chains and even the air we breathe," said King. "Acting now to ban the most problematic and unnecessary plastics while holding corporations accountable for the waste problem they have created can set us on a better course. But the government must act as quickly as possible so this announcement isn't a single-use election promise."
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EU One Step Closer to Ban on the Single-Use Plastics Choking Planet and Harming Human Health
"The European Parliament has made history by voting to reduce single-use plastics and slash plastic pollution in our rivers and ocean."
Oct 24, 2018
Environmentalists cautiously celebrated "a victory for our oceans, for the environment, and for future generations" on Wednesday as the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of a proposal to outlaw the most common single-use plastic products across Europe.
"The European Parliament has made history by voting to reduce single-use plastics and slash plastic pollution in our rivers and ocean," responded Justine Maillot of Surfrider Foundation Europe, on behalf of Rethink Plastic, a coalition of environmental groups on the continent.
"Citizens across Europe want to see an end to plastic pollution," Maillot added. "It's now up to national governments to keep the ambition high, and resist corporate pressure to continue a throwaway culture."
\u201c"One small step for #EPlenary, one giant leap towards a future free from #plasticpollution" - by the way, this just the beginning!\n#rethinkplastic #breakfreefromplastic @brkfreeplastic https://t.co/ObSrvfs2t8\u201d— Rethink Plastic (@Rethink Plastic) 1540388533
MEPs voted 571-53--with 34 abstentions--to advance the proposal initially introduced in May. As BBC News reports, "The measure still has to clear some procedural hurdles, but is expected to go through." Negotiations among representatives from national governments, the European Parliament, and the European Commission to finalize the law could begin as early as November.
While campaigners have raised alarm about potential loopholes as well as covert lobbying by Coca-Cola, Nestle, PepsiCo, and Danone, they welcomed the widespread support for the measure, which would ban single-use plastic cotton buds, straws, plates and cutlery, beverage stirrers, balloon sticks, oxo-degradable plastics, and expanded polystyrene food containers and cups across the EU by 2021.
Although the ban, unfortunately, will not extend to very light-weight single-use plastic bags, Greenpeace EU chemicals policy director Kevin Stairs said that with Wednesday's vote, "we're one step closer to protecting people and wildlife from the plastic that's choking our rivers and seas, turning up everywhere, from the Antarctic Ocean to the salt on our tables."
Appearing on euronews ahead of the vote, Stairs discussed the threat that plastics pose not only to the world's waterways, but also human health. Earlier this week, a pilot study found, for the first time in documented history, microplastics in human waste.
\u201c#GME | MEPs are to vote today on a proposed ban on single-use plastics, in a bid to cut marine pollution. If it's passed, the new legislation would forbid the sale of plastic products like straws, cutlery and cotton buds across the EU from 2021.\n\nhttps://t.co/Rve1LoJ3Pb\u201d— euronews (@euronews) 1540360938
Philipp Schwabl, who conducted the human stool study, presented his findings--which have not yet been peer reviewed or published--at a conference in Vienna on Tuesday and hopes to expand his research, according toNational Geographic. Recent studies have increasingly heightened concerns about the impact of plastics on the planet and all species that inhabit it.
Plastic pollution has become "one of our planet's greatest environmental challenges," declared a United Nations report released in June. "Our oceans have been used as a dumping ground, choking marine life and transforming some marine areas into a plastic soup. In cities around the world, plastic waste clogsdrains, causing floods and breeding disease. Consumed by livestock, it also finds its way into the food chain."
In addition to banning some of the most common single-use plastics, which make up more than 70 percent of marine litter, the EU measure also aims to set national reduction targets for non-banned plastics, cigarette butts, and lost or abandoned fishing gear.
"Today's vote paves the way to a forthcoming and ambitious directive," said MEP Frederique Ries, the Belgian politican who drafted the approved EU plans. "It is essential in order to protect the marine environment and reduce the costs of environmental damage attributed to plastic pollution in Europe, estimated at 22 billion euros by 2030."
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