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CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Failure of talks for plastic treaty turn focus back to reduce, reuse, recycle. How's that going?
Talks aimed at a global treaty to cut plastic pollution fizzled in Geneva this week, with no agreement to meaningfully reduce the harms to human health and the environment that come with the millions of tons of plastic water bottles, food containers and packaging produced today. Though as many as 100 countries sought caps on production, powerful oil-producing nations like Saudi Arabia and the United States stood against them. They argued the caps were unnecessary and a threat to their economies and industries. That means any progress continues to depend on efforts to improve recycling, reuse and product design — the very things that powerful nations argued were sufficient to address the problem without resorting to production cuts. Here's what to know about how successful those efforts have been. A man walks past plastic waste strewn along at Enggros village beach in Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia, on Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File) A man walks past plastic waste strewn along at Enggros village beach in Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia, on Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File) Just how big is the problem? The world makes more than 400 million tons of new plastic each year, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that could increase by about 70 per cent by 2040 without meaningful change. A great deal of that ends up in landfills or, worse, the environment. Pollution isn't the only problem. Plastics, made almost entirely from fossil fuels, are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Plastics generated 3.4 per cent — or 1.8 billion tons — of planet-warming emissions across the globe in 2019, the United Nations says. Delegates reacts during a plenary session of Second Part of the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2), at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Aug. 14,... Delegates reacts during a plenary session of Second Part of the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2), at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Thursday, Aug. 14, 2025. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP) So, how effective has recycling been so far? Not very. It's notoriously difficult to recycle plastics; only six per cent of what's made gets recycled, according to the OECD. That's largely because different kinds of plastic cannot be recycled together. They have different chemical compositions, making it costly and time-consuming, and requiring a lot of manual sorting. 'There are many different colors of plastics, many different types of plastics called polymers, and 16,000 to 17,000 different chemicals used to make plastics, so by design, plastics are not easily recyclable,' said Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, an organization that works to cut plastic pollution. Experts say plastic is different from materials like paper, cardboard, metal and glass, which all get reused at much higher rates. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates glass recycling at about 31 per cent, and things like steel cans at about 71 per cent. As much as 64 per cent of paper and 74 per cent of cardboard get recycled, according to the American Forest & Paper Association. But 'If you just think of your own home or apartment, you might have a bright orange hard plastic detergent container on top of your washing machine, and then you might have a plastic bag,' Enck said. 'Those two things cannot get recycled together.' Plastic items are seen on Place des Nations in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025 before the second segment of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plas... Plastic items are seen on Place des Nations in front of the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Monday, Aug. 4, 2025 before the second segment of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2). (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP) What strides are being made to improve recycling? The plastics industry says innovations in material science are helping to incorporate more recycled plastics into products and enable more plastic products to be recyclable. Ross Eisenberg, president of America's Plastic Makers, noted the need for an 'all-of-the-above approach.' He said this also includes upgrading recycling infrastructure or improving sorting to capture more used plastics. This also means making recycling more accessible and helping consumers know what can and can't go in the recycling bin. But there are a lot of limitations to this. Depending on consumers for accurate pre-sorting is a lot to ask. And cities may hesitate to make costly infrastructure improvements to their recycling programs if there is little financial incentive or market for the recycled material. 'Local recycling facilities, or markets for the recycled material, don't always exist. Where the collection and processing infrastructure does exist, the recycling plants are essentially plastic production facilities, with the same air, water, and soil pollution problems that are harmful to local residents,' said Holly Kaufman, director of The Plastics & Climate Project and senior fellow at World Resources Institute. Further, mechanical recycling mixes used plastic with new plastic, and the addition of more chemicals. It also requires other steps that shed much smaller plastic particles into the environment. Plastics recycling also usually requires plastic that's never been recycled before — called virgin plastic — as used plastic is weak, Kaufman said. 'It does not make much of a dent.' California is currently suing oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil, alleging deception about the possibilities of plastic recycling. Because of this, Kaufman says, 'The aim should be to significantly reduce plastic production, use, and waste, not recycle more.' Working at Tokyo Petbottle Recycle Co. A plastic recycling company worker sorts out plastic bottles collected for processing at Tokyo Petbottle Recycle Co., Ltd, on June 18, 2019. (Koji Sasahara / AP) What about reusing and redesigning plastics? 'Reuse means creating packaging or products designed to be used multiple times, like refillable containers, or more durable zippered bags that can be washed and refilled many times, extending their lifespan and reducing waste,' Eisenberg, of America's Plastic Makers, said. Experts say reuse is extremely important, but reusable products shouldn't necessarily be used for consumables because of the risk of microplastics. Redesigning plastic often means making it easier to recycle. That can be using one material in packaging instead of several, or printing labels directly onto a container rather than using a separate one that is glued on, but that is more complex. Alternatives to plastics could also be made out of sustainable, less harmful and even regenerative materials, such as seaweed, Kaufman said. There has been progress on this front, but most solutions have not scaled up yet. Waste Recycling at Veolia Facility as Companies Dial Down On Their Own Targets Bales of compressed waste for recycling at a waste management facility in London. (Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg) ___ Alexa St. John, The Associated Press
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Failure of talks for plastic treaty turn focus back to reduce, reuse, recycle. How's that going?
Talks aimed at a global treaty to cut plastic pollution fizzled in Geneva this week, with no agreement to meaningfully reduce the harms to human health and the environment that come with the millions of tons of plastic water bottles, food containers and packaging produced today. Though as many as 100 countries sought caps on production, powerful oil-producing nations like Saudi Arabia and the United States stood against them. They argued the caps were unnecessary and a threat to their economies and industries. That means any progress continues to depend on efforts to improve recycling, reuse and product design — the very things that powerful nations argued were sufficient to address the problem without resorting to production cuts. Here's what to know about how successful those efforts have been. Just how big is the problem? The world makes more than 400 million tons of new plastic each year, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that could increase by about 70% by 2040 without meaningful change. A great deal of that ends up in landfills or, worse, the environment. Pollution isn't the only problem. Plastics, made almost entirely from fossil fuels, are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Plastics generated 3.4% — or 1.8 billion tons — of planet-warming emissions across the globe in 2019, the United Nations says. So, how effective has recycling been so far? Not very. It's notoriously difficult to recycle plastics; only 6% of what's made gets recycled, according to the OECD. That's largely because different kinds of plastic cannot be recycled together. They have different chemical compositions, making it costly and time-consuming, and requiring a lot of manual sorting. 'There are many different colors of plastics, many different types of plastics called polymers, and 16,000 to 17,000 different chemicals used to make plastics, so by design, plastics are not easily recyclable," said Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, an organization that works to cut plastic pollution. Experts say plastic is different from materials like paper, cardboard, metal and glass, which all get reused at much higher rates. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates glass recycling at about 31%, and things like steel cans at about 71%. As much as 64% of paper and 74% of cardboard get recycled, according to the American Forest & Paper Association. But 'If you just think of your own home or apartment, you might have a bright orange hard plastic detergent container on top of your washing machine, and then you might have a plastic bag,' Enck said. 'Those two things cannot get recycled together." What strides are being made to improve recycling? The plastics industry says innovations in material science are helping to incorporate more recycled plastics into products and enable more plastic products to be recyclable. Ross Eisenberg, president of America's Plastic Makers, noted the need for an 'all-of-the-above approach.' He said this also includes upgrading recycling infrastructure or improving sorting to capture more used plastics. This also means making recycling more accessible and helping consumers know what can and can't go in the recycling bin. But there are a lot of limitations to this. Depending on consumers for accurate pre-sorting is a lot to ask. And cities may hesitate to make costly infrastructure improvements to their recycling programs if there is little financial incentive or market for the recycled material. "Local recycling facilities, or markets for the recycled material, don't always exist. Where the collection and processing infrastructure does exist, the recycling plants are essentially plastic production facilities, with the same air, water, and soil pollution problems that are harmful to local residents," said Holly Kaufman, director of The Plastics & Climate Project and senior fellow at World Resources Institute. Further, mechanical recycling mixes used plastic with new plastic, and the addition of more chemicals. It also requires other steps that shed much smaller plasticparticles into the environment. Plastics recycling also usually requires plastic that's never been recycled before — called virgin plastic — as used plastic is weak, Kaufman said. 'It does not make much of a dent.' California is currently suing oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil, alleging deception about the possibilities of plastic recycling. Because of this, Kaufman says, 'The aim should be to significantly reduce plastic production, use, and waste, not recycle more.' What about reusing and redesigning plastics? 'Reuse means creating packaging or products designed to be used multiple times, like refillable containers, or more durable zippered bags that can be washed and refilled many times, extending their lifespan and reducing waste,' Eisenberg, of America's Plastic Makers, said. Experts say reuse is extremely important, but reusable products shouldn't necessarily be used for consumables because of the risk of microplastics. Redesigning plastic often means making it easier to recycle. That can be using one material in packaging instead of several, or printing labels directly onto a container rather than using a separate one that is glued on, but that is more complex. Alternatives to plastics could also be made out of sustainable, less harmful and even regenerative materials, such as seaweed, Kaufman said. There has been progress on this front, but most solutions have not scaled up yet. ___ Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ___ ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
France 24
4 days ago
- France 24
Plastic pollution treaty talks stumble
Africa 14:26 From the show Negotiators in Geneva are scrambling to salvage a global treaty to curb plastic pollution, on the final day of talks. Despite a strong push by nearly 100 countries to reach an agreement, oil-producing nations are against the curbs. Also, in The Gambia, the death of an infant following female genital mutilation over the past weekend has triggered widespread shock, bringing the sensitive issue back to the center of national debate. The tragedy occurred in a small town near the capital, Banjul. The Gambia is among the 10 countries with the highest rates of FGM, with 73% of women and girls having undergone the procedure, with many doing so before the age of six years. Finally, earlier this month, Senegalese law enforcement arrested a man accused of blackmailing thousands of people with 'sextapes' for more than six years. Those who refused to pay saw their intimate videos posted on an adult website. Cases like this are on the rise, especially among young women. Experts say, only digital education can protect the most vulnerable.
France 24
5 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Last chance saloon for global plastic pollution treaty
Countries wanting bold action to turn the tide on plastic garbage are so far apart from a group of oil-producing nations that the prospects of finding meaningful common ground before Friday -- after three years of talks -- seem low. With just over a day to go, the talks chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso produced a draft text based on the few areas of convergence, in an attempt to find common ground. But the draft succeeded only in infuriating virtually all corners and the text was immediately shredded as one country after another ripped it to bits. For the self-styled ambitious countries, it was an empty document shorn of bold action like curbing production and phasing out toxic ingredients and reduced down to a waste management accord. And for the so-called Like-Minded Group, with Gulf states leading the charge, it crossed too many of their red lines and did not do enough to narrow down the scope of what they might be signing up for. Negotiators from 184 countries have been working at the United Nations in Geneva since August 5 to try to conclude a first international accord on dealing with plastic pollution. The problem 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. A fifth and supposedly final round of talks in South Korea late last year broke up without agreement -- meaning the Geneva talks are already stretching the limits. Stomped, spat on and burned Presenting his draft, Ecuadorian diplomat Vayas said the text was an attempt at capturing the elements that could lay the foundation for a treaty to be concluded Thursday, saying it "builds on those areas where convergence exists". Colombia and Chile were first out of the blocks to brand the draft entirely unacceptable, while Panama said the red lines of the majority of countries were "not only stomped, they were spat on and they were burned". "This is not about closing a treaty at any cost: it is about closing a wound that we're leaving open in our rivers, in our oceans. But the text presented here makes that wound fatal and we will not accept it. This is simply repulsive. It is not ambition: it is surrender." Kenya said the text had been "significantly diluted and lost its very objective", having no "demonstrable value... to end plastic pollution". Afterwards, France's Ecological Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told reporters the text needed rebalancing and it was still "possible to write a text of 10 pages that takes into account all the main points". - Remaining hours 'critical' With ministers in Geneva for the final day of negotiations, environmental NGOs following the talks urged them to grasp the moment. The World Wide Fund for Nature said the remaining hours would be "critical in turning this around". "The implications of a watered-down, compromised text on people and nature around the world is immense," and failure on Thursday "means more damage, more harm, more suffering", it said. Greenpeace delegation chief Graham Forbes called on ministers to "uphold the ambition they have promised" and address "the root cause: the relentless expansion of plastic production". The Center for International Environmental Law's delegation chief David Azoulay said the draft was a "mockery", and as for eventually getting to a deal, he said: "It will be very difficult to come back from this".
Fast Company
05-08-2025
- Politics
- Fast Company
UN nations gather for a 6th time to tackle the global plastics crisis
Nations kicked off a meeting on Tuesday to try to complete a landmark treaty aimed at ending the plastic pollution crisis that affects every ecosystem and person on the planet. It's the sixth time negotiators are meeting and they hope the last. A key split is whether the treaty should require cutting plastic production, with powerful oil-producing nations opposed; most plastic is made from fossil fuels. They say redesign, recycling and reuse can solve the problem, while other countries and some major companies say that's not enough. Luis Vayas Valdivieso, the chair of the negotiating committee that aims to develop a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, said: 'We are pretty sure nobody wants plastic pollution. Still, we have not been able to find a systematic and an effective way to stop it.' An opportunity to ' end plastic pollution' Valdivieso believes the 10-day gathering in Geneva can be groundbreaking. 'For the first time in history, the world is within our reach of a legally binding international instrument to end plastic pollution,' said Valdivieso, who is also Ecuador's ambassador to Britain. 'We are facing a global crisis. Plastic pollution is damaging ecosystems, polluting our oceans and rivers, threatening biodiversity, harming human health and unfairly impacting the most vulnerable. The urgency is real.' Only a treaty can mobilize the necessary global action, said Angelique Pouponneau, lead ocean negotiator for 39 small island and low-lying coastal developing states. At home in the Seychelles, Pouponneau said, plastic contaminates the fish they eat, piles up on beaches and chokes the ocean to undermine tourism and their way of life. 'It's the world's final opportunity to get this done and to get it done right,' she said. 'It would be a tragedy if we didn't live up to our mandate.' United Nations Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen said the issues are complex, but the crisis is 'really spiraling' and there's a narrow pathway to a treaty. She said many countries agree on redesigning plastic products to be recycled and improving waste management, for example. 'We need to get a solution to this problem. Everybody wants it. I've yet to meet somebody who is in favor of plastic pollution,' Andersen said. Between 19 million and 23 million tons of plastic waste leak into aquatic ecosystems annually, which could jump 50% by 2040 without urgent action, according to the UN. Sharp disagreements on whether to limit plastic production In March 2022, 175 nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution by the end of 2024. It was to address the full life cycle of plastic, including production, design and disposal. Talks last year in South Korea were supposed to be the final round, but they adjourned in December at an impasse over cutting production. Every year, the world makes more than 400 million tons of new plastic, and that could grow by about 70% by 2040 without policy changes. About 100 countries want to limit production as well as tackle cleanup and recycling. Many have said it's essential to address toxic chemicals. Panama led an effort in South Korea to address production in the treaty. Negotiator Debbra Cisneros said they'll do so again in Geneva because they strongly believe in addressing pollution at the source, not just through downstream measures like waste management. 'If we shy away from that ambition now, we risk adopting an agreement that is politically convenient, but environmentally speaking, is ineffective,' she said. About 300 businesses that are members of the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty — companies such as Walmart, the Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, and L'Oréal — support reducing production along with increasing recycling and reuse. The coalition includes major food and beverage companies and retailers who want an effective, binding treaty with global rules to spare them the headaches of differing approaches in different countries. Some plastic-producing and oil and gas countries firmly oppose production limits. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest exporter of one common type of plastic, has led that group in asserting there should be no problem producing plastic if the world addresses plastic pollution. US position on the treaty The U.S. doesn't support global production caps or bans on certain plastic products or chemical additives to them. The State Department says it supports provisions to improve waste collection and management, improve product design and drive recycling, reuse and other efforts to cut the plastic dumped into the environment. 'If the negotiations are to succeed, the agreement must be aimed at protecting the environment from plastic pollution, and the agreement should recognize the importance plastics play in our economies,' the State Department said in a statement to The Associated Press. That's similar to the views of the plastics industry, which says that a production cap could have unintended consequences, such as raising the cost of plastics, and that chemicals are best regulated elsewhere. China, the United States and Germany lead the global plastics trade by exports and imports, according to the Plastics Industry Association. How high will negotiators aim? For any proposal to make it into the treaty, every nation must agree. Some countries want to change the process so decisions may be made by a vote if necessary. India, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait and others have opposed that, arguing that consensus is vital to an effective treaty. Negotiators are discussing making some provisions opt-in or opt-out to avoid a stalemate. Bjorn Beeler, international coordinator for the International Pollutants Elimination Network, said that would mean a treaty without teeth or obligations, with little value. Cisneros said that if carefully crafted, it's an option to find some common ground. Tracey Campbell, an executive vice president at the plastics and chemicals company LyondellBasell and vice chair of the executive committee of the World Plastics Council, said she'll ask negotiators to 'find a way to agree on a few things and get started' and then build from there. She suggested tackling things like product redesign, recycled content mandates and financing waste collection, waste sorting and recycling technologies. In contrast, Greenpeace will be in Geneva calling for at least a 75% reduction in plastic production by 2040. 'We will never recycle our way out of this problem,' said Graham Forbes, who leads the Greenpeace delegation. Thousands of people participating Delegates from most countries, the plastics industry and businesses that use plastics, environmentalists, scientists, Indigenous leaders and communities affected by plastic pollution are in Geneva. About 80 government ministers are attending talks that will last 10 days — the longest session yet, with adjournment scheduled for Aug. 14. Frankie Orona, executive director of the Texas-based Society of Native Nations, has been to every negotiating session. Indigenous land, water and air are being contaminated as fossil fuels are extracted and plastic is manufactured using hazardous chemicals, said Orona. 'We feel we absolutely have to be present to let them know, and see, who are the people that are really being impacted by the plastics crisis,' he said.
