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“Plastic will overwhelm us:” Scientists say health should be the core of global plastic treaty

News Agency nabakhabar — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 14:54:14 +0000

More than 20 international scientists put forth a plan today to encourage world leaders to put human health at the center of global plastic treaty negotiations taking place this week in Nairobi, Kenya.

The plan, dubbed the Health Scientists’ Global Plastic Treaty by its proponents, comes as negotiators from about 175 countries — along with industry representatives, environmentalists and others — meet through Nov. 19 to advance a treaty to end global plastic pollution. The Nairobi gathering is the third of five such meetings. The plan is to complete negotiations by the end of 2024 and have the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) develop the first international treaty tackling plastic on land and in bodies of water.

The Health Scientists’ Global Plastic Treaty was led by the Plastic Health Council — a group of scientists that research the human health impacts of plastics. Pete Myers, one of the signees and members of the Plastic Health Council, is the chief scientist at Environmental Health Sciences, which publishes EHN.org. The alternative treaty outlines both short-term and long-term goals that would ensure a health-protective global treaty.

Short-term goals include:

Stopping any consideration of chemical recycling
Eliminating subsidies to plastic manufacturers
Reducing single-use plastic production by 50% by 2035
Reducing virgin plastic production by 70% by 2024
Banning the sale of all products with unnecessary plastic by 2030.

Long-term goals include stopping use of micro-and nano-plastics except in medical settings, eliminating all chemicals of concern in plastics and funding safe, sustainable plastic replacements.

“We desperately need a global plastics treaty that uses the irrefutable evidence from the litany of peer-reviewed research reports as a catalyst for real action,” Sian Sutherland, co-founder of A Plastic Planet and the Plastic Health Council, said in a statement. “What will it take for global policymakers to resist the intense lobbying from big oil and mandate safer materials and chemicals that do not infect our planet and our children?”

Delegates at the plastic treaty negotiations in Nairobi. / Credit: UNEP

Last September, UNEP released a “Zero Draft” of a potential treaty agreement, which does include some proposals to limit or ban some concerning plastic chemicals. The scientist’s treaty released today called the Zero Draft “well-intentioned” but that it “falls far short of what is needed to ensure the health of humans, wildlife and ecosystems.”

Whether — and how much — the treaty should regulate the chemicals in plastic production is a point of contention. Thousands of chemicals found in plastics — such as PCBs, phthalates, BPA and PFAS — are linked to health effects in humans, from the immune system to the brain to the endocrine system. Recent research of 1,500 plastic chemicals found fewer than 30% have been tested for human health impacts.

“Most people assume that materials are thoroughly tested before they are put on the market, but for plastics this is not the case,” the scientists wrote in their draft treaty. “Plastics have largely escaped regulatory scrutiny for over 100 years.”

Countries and other negotiators also remain at odds over whether there should be production caps or more of a focus on recycling and a plastic “circular economy.” A treaty that limits production would impact oil, gas and petrochemical interests.

While only about 9% of plastic is recycled, recycling plastics can release toxic chemical additives.

Promoting chemical recycling “would be the worst outcome the Treaty could endorse for managing plastic waste,” the scientists wrote.

“Plastic recycling has been touted as a solution to the plastics pollution crisis, but toxic chemicals in plastics complicate their reuse and disposal and hinder plastic recycling,” said Bethanie Carney Almroth, a signee to the Health Scientists’ Global Plastics Treaty and a researcher at the University of Gothenburg in Göteborg, Sweden, in a statement.

“Numerous studies show that hazardous chemicals can accumulate even in relatively close-loop plastic recycling systems,” she added. “We need to rapidly phase-out plastic chemicals that can cause harm to human health and the environment.”

The last plastic treaty meeting was in June and was hampered by delays and procedural debates, largely from countries that profit from fossil fuels — which are used to make most plastics — and plastic production such as China, India, Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Prior to the Nairobi meeting, Saudi Arabia announced a coalition with Russia, Iran, Cuba, China and Bahrain called the Global Coalition for Plastics Sustainability, that will focus on plastic waste rather than production limits, according to Reuters.

On the other side of negotiations, more than 60 countries previously banded together to form the High Ambition Coalition with the goal of ending plastic pollution by 2040, with slowing production part of the solution.

The U.S. is not part of either coalition and has been criticized for initially favoring national commitments rather than legally binding global agreements. However, there are signals of a slight shift, as recent State Department statements have nodded to national plans being part of “universal obligations.”

The treaty is urgent as plastic production is on track to triple by 2060, an unsafe level for human health and the environment, according to an international panel of scientists.

“We must choose,” Myers said in a statement. “Will we smother the Earth and ourselves with toxic plastics? Or do we have the courage and foresight to stop the onslaught?”

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Oceana Canada report shows the way to cutting a third of plastic pollution

News Agency nabakhabar — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 18:40:42 +0000

Canada can reduce its single-use plastic each year by one-third, or 720,000 tonnes, according to a new report from Oceana Canada. Breaking the Plastic Cycle is a federal policy roadmap that focuses on single-use plastic packaging, which accounts for about half of Canada’s plastic waste. It found that despite population growth and associated demand, a significant reduction is possible using existing federal policy tools.

By implementing its recommendations, Oceana Canada believes the country can cap single-use plastic waste by 2026, followed by a downward trajectory for our country’s plastic pollution problem.

Plastic pollution is the second biggest threat to the planet after climate change, according to the United Nations, and the two are inherently linked. To meaningfully tackle this crisis and to support the government’s zero-plastic waste vision, Oceana Canada’s roadmap outlines the action needed.

It was also developed in response to the 90% of Canadians surveyed by Oceana Canada who support the single-use plastic ban.

“Environment and Climate Change Canada took the first step in banning six categories of unnecessary single-use plastics last year and committing to recycled content requirements, improving plastics labeling and reining in plastic at major grocers across Canada,” said Anthony Merante, Oceana Canada’s plastics campaigner.

“Plastic pollution is massive and needs to be taken seriously. If the government follows our recommendations, by 2040 Canada will prevent the generation of nine million tonnes of plastic waste. Our data shows that population growth will outweigh the impact of low-ambition policies that are slow-walled. Only through ambitious, sector-wide action can Canada reduce plastic waste and become a global leader on the path to a plastic-free future.”

Oceana Canada’s recommendations include implementing bans on unnecessary and hard-to-recycle items and pollution prevention (P2) plans for key sectors to establish plastic reduction requirements, refill and reuse provisions, and proven recycling targets. The roadmap identifies the seven sectors that are the greatest sources of single-use plastic collectively generating 41% of plastic packaging waste in Canada.

The following actions are recommended for these sectors:

Grocery stores generate more than 382,430 tonnes of single-use plastic each year, excluding beverage bottles sold in-store. Packaging on produce, pouches replacing traditional metal and glass containers on products like baby food and overwrapping binding multiple products account for this source of single-use plastic. A P2 plan, calling for a reduction in single-use plastic SUP generation by way of unwrapping products, bringing back refill systems and removing all non-recyclable packaging from stores is required. This sector can reduce plastic packaging waste by 45% by 2040.
Beverage bottles represent more than 178,000 tonnes of single-use plastic each year. Pop and water are the leading products that contribute to this waste. This sector can be modernized by phasing in reuse requirements and building on well-established deposit return systems that already exist for alcoholic beverages across the country, resulting in 70% of bottles being refillable and reusable by 2040.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or polystyrene (PS): Each year, Canada produces nearly 135,000 tonnes of single-use plastic that cannot be recycled or reused from these materials. This sector can reduce plastic waste by 100% with a distribution ban and move to more recyclable materials.
Dine-out food service creates 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste each year. This sector can reduce plastic waste by 100% with the full implementation of a P2 plan that brings major restaurants and food couriers together nationally to phase out non-recyclable takeout containers and introduce reusable containers already in place in cities like Toronto and Vancouver.
Pallet wrap is used by most Canadian businesses to bind goods on pallets during storage and transportation, and more than 111,000 tonnes of it is thrown away each year. This can be reduced by 90% by 2040 spurring innovation in the sector, including reusable binding techniques such as nets instead of single-use films.
Dine-in food service generates more than 70,000 tonnes of single-use plastic each year. including drinks and meals ordered “for here,” but served using single-use plastic cups and plates. This sector can reduce plastic waste by 100% with a distribution ban.
E-commerce: This sector generates more than 60,000 tonnes of single-use plastic each year and is led by a few industry giants. E-commerce can be zero plastic waste using a combination of bans and strong P2 plans calling for the removal of single-use plastic.

“Urgent government action is needed. We can hit peak plastic as soon as 2026 and reduce production and consumption of single-use plastic in every year that follows,” said Kim Elmslie, Oceana Canada’s campaign director.

“It’s time for leaders in the sectors to step up and address the challenges by putting in measures to end plastic waste. Working collaboratively, we can make a positive impact on the environment, oceans and marine life.”

Major national grocery retailers offer the first opportunity to reduce plastic waste in Canada. In the summer of 2023, the government notified major grocers of a P2 plan to reduce unnecessary plastics throughout their operations. If designed and implemented efficiently, these plans could achieve several of the recommendations laid out in the report and greatly reduce plastic packaging waste in Canada.

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