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Japan Today
4 days ago
- General
- Japan Today
Plastic pollution treaty talks open with 'global crisis' warning
Nations are trying to secure the world's first treaty on plastic pollution By Robin Millard and Isabel Malsang The 184 countries gathering to forge a landmark treaty on combating plastic pollution were told Tuesday they must find a way to tackle a global crisis wrecking ecosystems and trashing the oceans. States should seize the chance to shape history, the man chairing the talks said as 10 days of negotiations kicked off at the United Nations in Geneva. "We are facing a global crisis," Ecuadoran diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso told the more than 1,800 negotiators as they prepared to thrash out their differences in the search for common ground. "Plastic pollution is damaging ecosystems, polluting our oceans and rivers, threatening biodiversity, harming human health, and unfairly impacting the most vulnerable," he said. "The urgency is real, the evidence is clear -- and the responsibility is on us." Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body. But after five rounds of talks, three years of negotiations hit the wall in Busan, South Korea, in December when oil-producing states blocked a consensus. Key figures steering this revived attempt insist a deal is within reach this time around. "There's been extensive diplomacy from Busan till now," the U.N. Environment Program's Executive Director Inger Andersen told AFP. The UNEP is hosting the talks, and Andersen said conversations between different regions and interest groups had generated momentum. "Most countries, actually, that I have spoken with have said: 'We're coming to Geneva to strike the deal.' Will it be easy? No. Will it be straightforward? No. Is there a pathway for a deal? Absolutely." Dumped, burned and trashed More than 400 million tons of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items. While 15 percent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only nine percent is actually recycled. Nearly half, or 46 percent, ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter. In 2022, countries agreed they would find a way to address the crisis by the end of 2024. However, the supposedly final negotiations on a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the seas, flopped in Busan. One group of countries sought an ambitious deal to limit production and phase out harmful chemicals. But a clutch of mostly oil-producing nations rejected production limits and wanted to focus on treating waste. A cap on plastic production is one of the thorniest issues being debated in Geneva. Katrin Schneeberger, the director of Switzerland's environment ministry, told the opening press conference: "This is no call for a production cap. Clarifying this in informal meetings was an important message to producing countries." Without commenting on whether there would be a cap, Andersen then stressed that the treaty would cover the entire life cycle of plastics, from production to waste. More than 600 non-governmental organizations are in Geneva, and this time have access to the discussion group meetings. "We have to stop making so much plastic," Greenpeace's delegation chief Graham Forbes told AFP. The group and its allies want a treaty "that cuts plastic production, eliminates toxic chemicals and provides the financing that's going to be required to transition to a fossil fuel, plastic-free future", he said. "The fossil fuel industry is here in force," he noted, adding: "We cannot let a few countries determine humanity's future when it comes to plastic pollution." France's Ecological Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher -- one of a few dozen ministers planning on heading to Geneva later in the talks -- warned Tuesday that the negotiations would be "difficult". "I call on each state to take responsibility before we are overwhelmed by this pollution," she said in a statement. Panama's delegate Juan Monterrey Gomez -- a fellow proponent of an ambitious treaty -- voiced optimism that a treaty could be struck on August 14. "The beginning is better than Busan," he said of the start of talks. No country wanting to be held responsible for sinking the negotiations "is probably the biggest trigger we can push", he told AFP. © 2025 AFP
Politico
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Waltz vows to take take Trump's chainsaw to the United Nations
'We should have one place in the world where everyone can talk,' said the former Republican representative from Florida. 'But after 80 years, it's drifted from its core mission of peacemaking.' Waltz also vowed to push back against China at the U.N. amid Beijing's rising influence at the global body. The United States is the largest single financial contributor to the U.N., accounting for more than a quarter of its overall budget. Waltz indicated this could be used as leverage in pushing for reform. 'If you look at when reform has actually happened,' he said, 'it is when the United States has said, 'You know what, we need to actually see things before the U.S. taxpayer continues to write checks.'' The administration is looking to cancel some $1 billion in federal funding to the U.N. as part of its rescission package, which seeks to claw back almost $10 billion in federal funds. The Senate is set to vote on the measure as early as this week, bringing cuts to a world body already facing a deep financial crisis. Waltz questioned the number of bodies at the U.N. that focus on climate change and environmental protection, including the U.N. Environment Program and the International Union for Conservation of Nature. At one point during the hearing, he read from a list of U.N. 455 entities that he claimed received U.S. funding and appeared to question their relevance. Trump has said the U.N. needs to get its 'act together' and has called on the body to focus on its 'primary purpose' of conflict resolution, a view which was shared by Waltz on Tuesday. Administration officials have been quick to criticize the organization, founded in the wake of World War II, though they have not outlined a clear vision on how to improve it. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) later quizzed Waltz on how the administration planned to reconcile its efforts to cut its contributions to the international body, while maintaining its influence. 'You've just waved here's this great big list of organizations. Many of them do critical things,' Coons said.
Japan Today
25-04-2025
- General
- Japan Today
Your clothes are shedding bits of plastic. Here's what people are doing about it
Rachael Z. Miller, founder of the Vermont-based Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean, conducts a tape test on various clothing items to compare how much each material sheds microfibers on Thursday, April 17, 2025, in Granville, Vt. (AP Photo/Amanda Swinhart) By JENNIFER McDERMOTT Bottles and bags, food wrappers and straws. Piping, packaging, toys and trays. Plastic is everywhere — and yet some people may be surprised at how much they actually wear. A typical closet is loaded with plastic, woven into polyester activewear, acrylic sweaters, nylon swimsuits and stretchy socks — and it's shedding into the environment nonstop. When garments are worn, washed and put through the dryer, they shed plastic fiber fragments. A single load of laundry can release millions that are so tiny wastewater treatment plants can't capture them all. They wind up in local waterways that connect to the ocean. Marine animals eat them, and that can pass plastic to larger animals and humans. Even natural fabrics shed fibers and have chemicals that can leach into the environment. But polyester is the most widely used fiber on Earth, and along with other synthetic fibers accounts for about two-thirds of production worldwide. 'Everyone who wears and launders clothing is part of this problem but everyone who wears and launders clothing can be part of the solutions,' said Rachael Z. Miller, founder of Vermont-based Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean. Simple changes like washing clothes less and using cold water instead of hot can help reduce the shedding of fibers. More challenging is that textiles need to be produced and used in a more sustainable way, said Elisa Tonda at the U.N. Environment Program. For example, designing clothes that shed fewer microfibers and are high-quality to last longer, said Tonda, who leads the resources and markets branch. The easiest solution is to wash clothes less often, making for less of the friction that breaks fibers apart, said Anja Brandon, director of plastics policy at Ocean Conservancy. 'They get tumbled and tossed around with a bunch of soaps, really designed to shake things up to get out dirt and stains,' Brandon said. Miller uses a stain stick to spot-clean. Both say that when clothes are washed, they shed less when put in cold water in full loads to reduce friction, on a shorter cycle, then hung to dry. Inspired by the way coral filters the ocean, Miller invented the Cora Ball, a laundry ball that can be tossed into the washer to cut down on clothes banging into each other. It also catches microfibers. (A portion of the proceeds goes to the Rozalia Project.) Another option is to put synthetic fabrics in a washing bag that captures fibers. Which clothes shed the most? To find out, press a strip of clear packing tape to a garment, then stick it to white paper to check for fibers, Miller said. Garments that are loosely knit or woven tend to shed more, such as fleece. Miller said people don't need to rush to throw out clothing that's more likely to shed. She owns fleece jackets herself. Instead, she suggested such clothing can be worn indoors only or outside with a layer on top, and it's worth thinking twice about acquiring more garments like that. 'I try not to guilt or panic people because a lot of this information is very new,' Miller said. 'And so we might as well just say, 'OK, I got it. How can I be strategic about what I've got?'' Filters can be added to washers to capture microfibers. Samsung Electronics collaborated with Patagonia and the global conservation organization Ocean Wise to launch one in 2023. It's now sold in more than 20 countries for front-load washers. Bosch recently launched a microfiber filter in Europe for washers. France was first to adopt a law to mandate that new washing machines sold in the country have a microfiber filter, though implementation has been delayed. In the U.S., efforts to mandate filters in states have failed. California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill in 2023, saying he was concerned about the cost to consumers and he wants to incentivize, not mandate, technologies to remove microfibers in wastewater. In Oregon, state Sen. Deb Patterson proposed a bill this year requiring microfiber filters on new washers sold in that state after she came across the technology in Canada. Patterson said the bill doesn't have enough support yet but she'll keep trying. The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers opposes the proposals, saying it's concerned about consumer costs and filter effectiveness. Some big brands are testing their fabrics to help researchers understand fiber fragmentation, including Adidas, Nike, Patagonia and Under Armour. They're among more than 90 brands, retailers and manufacturers to partner with The Microfibre Consortium in the United Kingdom, founded in 2018 to do research and offer solutions to transform textile production — including reducing fiber breakup. Nearly 1,500 fabrics have been tested. None are the same, making it a tough problem to solve, consortium CEO Kelly Sheridan said. Patagonia has been a leader in trying to stop the spread of synthetic fiber waste into air and water, saying it's up to garment brands to prevent it at the source since cleaning up microplastics in the environment is not yet possible. It paid for its own research starting a decade ago on the implication of its clothes. The company worked with suppliers to choose fabrics and dyes and to finish their clothing in ways that reduce shedding. They collaborated on new filtration technologies for washers, textile mills and municipal systems. One of their best-known styles is something called the 'better sweater" that shifts from virgin polyester to recycled polyester to cut shedding by about 40%, said Matt Dwyer, vice president of global product footprint. And at textile mills, there's a prewash at the factory that can capture that first big shed, he added. Dwyer is optimistic about progress. 'There's a whole lot of smart people, not just understanding the problem and the scope of the problem, but also looking for solutions all the way through the manufacturing cycle and use phase,' he said. 'Compared to 10 years ago, it's a whole new world.' © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
