ST Explains Race against time as UN talks tackle plastics crisis

The goal is to develop a legally binding instrument to address plastic pollution

- David Fogarty

Delegates from more than 170 nations are meeting in Busan, South Korea, to try to finalize a deal to tackle the global plastics waste crisis.

The UN hopes the talks from Nov 25 to Dec 1—the fifth round of negotiations since 2022—will lead to a treaty that will curb the production of plastics and a possible ban on the toxic chemicals used to make plastic products.

At the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, in March 2022, 175 nations voted to support the creation of a global treaty on plastic pollution and to implement it as soon as 2025.

The UN Environment Programme says the aim is to develop a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution to address the full life cycle of plastic—from production and design, use and disposal to recycling and reuse.

The fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) in Busan is meant to be the final round. Its aim is to finalize and approve the text of the legal instrument.

Plastics take decades to centuries to degrade—the waste pile keeps growing every year.

There are trillions of tiny plastic particles in the air, in the soil and in the oceans, as well as millions of tonnes of large pieces of plastic from bottles to milk crates to abandoned fishing gear—littering the planet. Animals such as birds, fish, shrimp and whales ingest microplastics, which in turn have been found inside human brains, breast milk and reproductive organs.