The U.N.’s Plastics Treaty Talks are Making Headway Into a More Sustainable Future

The first international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution is one step closer to reality after the most recent round of talks at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for Plastics.

In a U.N. gathering known as the “Plastics Treaty Talks”, delegates from around 170 nations came together in Paris at the beginning of June to continue developing an international agreement on the reduction of plastics pollution. It was the second of five scheduled meetings of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for Plastics which is charged with developing the first international, legally binding treaty on plastic pollution for both land and sea.

Read more about these meetings in these articles from The Guardian and Reuters.

These were closed door meetings, so specifics haven’t been released, but we do know that hard-fought negotiations aided some headway into what a draft agreement will look like – the next step is the creation of that draft agreement before the next scheduled meeting in November 2023. The goal is to finalize the agreement by 2024 so that it can come into full effect by 2025.

The discussions focused on a few areas: the reduction of plastics production; phase-outs of problematic chemicals and specific high-risk plastic products; and the increase of both recycling and reuse.

According to a statement to the Associated Press by Stew Harris, Senior Director for global plastics policy at the American Chemistry Council (posted in this PBS article), the reuse of plastics was “at the forefront of the negotiations as a means to tackle pollution and be more sustainable in producing and consuming plastics.”

While we may not know the exact contents of the agreement, it is widely expected that it will mean some big changes coming down the line. Those changes will make sustainable packaging even more important.

Like the plastics treaty talks, we keep our eyes on upcoming regulations, as well as new innovations in sustainable packaging, recycling, and reuse, so we can help you make the best decisions for both your organization and the environment.

Luckily, at AMGRAPH, we are way ahead of the curve with our focus on sustainable processes and packaging. We can help you get ahead of the curve too! Let us help guide you on your sustainable packaging journey well before any new mandates come into effect.