The ChE in context: The Plastic Treaty Negotiations from a Delegate’s Perspective

As part of a resolution adopted by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) in 2022, negotiators are seeking to develop an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. In October 2022, the column “Recent Plastic Policy Initiatives and Opportunities for ChEs” discussed what led up to the negotiations (CEP, p. 48).

Toward developing this treaty, authors Mary Ellen Ternes and Jeffrey Seay recently participated in the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3), Nov. 13–19, 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya. Ternes, Seay, and Tracy Hester serve as observer delegates to the plastic treaty negotiations on behalf of the nongovernmental organization Global Council for Science and the Environment (GCSE). The authors’ insights into the prospective treaty and processes may be valuable for other chemical engineers as professionals and as citizens.

Background. The solution to the issue of plastic waste is often framed in terms of recycling, with industry advocates arguing that the solution to plastic pollution is more-efficient recycling. Currently, less than 10% of post-consumer plastic waste is recycled (not considering uncollectable microplastic shed during product use). Although society could certainly do better, recycling is, unfortunately, a more complex problem than often realized.

Plastics are more than just polymers — they are complex formulations of polymers in addition to additives intended to modify properties and ease production. Numerous formulations (currently, there are more than 70,000 on the market) greatly confound the recycling process, leading to limited market outlets for recycled plastic. When also considering sorting and transportation issues, the difficulty of the problem becomes clear. There is an urgent need for reducing and simplifying the universe of plastic formulations and the multitude of additives used. Plastic simplification, designing for safety and circularity, and alternatives to plastic — along with safe and sustainable chemical processes to manage plastic post-use fate — all present opportunities for the chemical engineering community.

The global plastic treaty negotiations arose from the UNEA resolution 5/14, which was adopted May 10, 2022. The resolution followed years of press coverage regarding the Great Pacific Garbage Patch; China’s 2017 “Operation National Sword” rejecting any further imports of plastic waste upon recognizing it has no recoverable value; the powerful National Geographic 2018 effort “Planet or Plastic;” and the May 10, 2019 amendments to the Basel Convention listing nonconforming plastic waste as hazardous waste.

Although global concerns regarding plastic pollution were initially spurred by disturbing images of ocean litter, they now incorporate the entire plastic value chain, toxicity of plastic, chemical additives, microplastic particles (less than 5 mm) and nanoparticles...