Negotiators are meeting in Busan, South Korea to hammer out the world's first treaty on reducing and controlling Earth's spiraling plastic waste.
More than two-thirds of all plastics produced is used only once or twice before it is discarded and 22% is mismanaged – which means it is dumped in landfills, leaks into the environment, or illegally incinerated.
"Our world is drowning in plastic pollution," U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in urging delegates to adopt "a treaty that is ambitious, credible and just" for the sake of the planet.
"Plastic waste is dumped into our waters, killing marine life – and by 2050, there could be more plastic than fish in the ocean," he said. "We must transform our consumption and production patterns."
Only 9% of plastic waste is recycled, says the 38-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which also found that global plastic waste has more than doubled in 20 years to 460 million metric tons a year – and it is on track to triple within four decades.
Without any change in current business practices, global plastics production is expected to increase to 736 million metric tons by 2040, up 70% from 435 million metric tons in 2020, according to OECD projections.
Limits on industry sought
The talks were scheduled to run from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1. The most contentious issue is whether nations can agree on a limit for the amount of plastic that companies are allowed to produce.
Environmental groups want limits on plastic production and use, but the plastics industry favors using more chemicals or advanced recycling.
Sixty-six countries plus the European Union, led by Norway and Rwanda, are pushing for stringent controls on the entire manufacturing process for all plastics, from their design and creation to their use and disposal.
This is the fifth round of talks on an international legally binding deal on plastic pollution, including what ends up in the marine environment. The four earlier rounds were held in Punta del Este, Uruguay in 2022; in Paris and Nairobi in 2023; and in Ottawa, Canada earlier this year.
The U.N. Environment Program's Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee, which is developing the treaty, was formed after delegates from 175 nations to the U.N. Environment Assembly in Nairobi voted unanimously to devise a legally binding global treaty on plastic pollution.
