UN INC-2: Amcor, Delterra, Mars and P&G partner on plastics circularity for Global South

30 May 2023 --- Amcor, Delterra, Mars and P&G have announced the launch of a partnership to stem the tide of plastic pollution in the Global South. The companies say they will work together to scale upstream and downstream solutions for a circular plastics economy, jointly committing US$6 million over five years.

The announcement comes as the second negotiating committee meeting for a Global Plastics Treaty (INC-2) is ongoing in Paris, France. Governments, civil society groups and industry stakeholders are working to develop a globally binding instrument on plastic pollution. 

The four partners are approaching the INC-2 “with a shared commitment” to promote a “systemic and holistic solution” to the plastic pollution crisis. The group calls on like-minded organizations to enforce “real change.” 

Allison Lin, global vice president for packaging sustainability at Mars, remarks, “We want to demonstrate that we can create successful programs for waste management and recycling systems, particularly in the Global South, that currently lack the infrastructure we need to stop plastic pollution.” 

“Scale will enable these systems to be self-sustained and, ultimately, protect people and the planet while simultaneously creating value for local communities. We call on all parties gathering in Paris for the INC-2 negotiations to agree on a regulatory framework that enables the creation of effective waste management infrastructure systems everywhere in the world.”

Improving collection and sortation systems in the Global South is an essentail part of tacking global plastic pollution, says the partnership.Tackling systemic issues
The partnership asserts that plastic pollution is a symptom of the broader issue of underperforming or non-existent waste management solutions and is promoting the following remedial solutions: 

• Stemming plastic pollution at source by designing waste out of the system with Delterra’s global rollout of Plastic IQ, a digital tool that is changing how companies understand and improve their plastic footprint.
• Working on the supply and demand side to capture recyclable and compostable materials and return them to productive use with Delterra’s Rethinking Recycling program.
• Innovating material traceability solutions to provide transparency on matters such as source, quality and ethical concerns along the recycling value chain.

The partnership will focus on countries of the Global South, starting in Indonesia, Argentina and Brazil, and aim to provide easy access to waste management and recycling systems to 10 million people. 

The partners say they will explore new ways to drive true systems change and to innovate beyond each organization’s individual realm to positively impact the entire ecosystem.

Reducing production 
Despite the partnership’s plans to tackle packaging waste with upstream solutions such as design for recycling, improved collection systems and supply train traceability, many critics assert these approaches are insufficient. 

Civil society groups such as GAIA and Greenpeace have voiced concerns that industry stakeholders have a conflict of interest in attempting to influence the INC-2, and that a mandatory global cap on petrochemical production is necessary. 

Improved design and recycling infrastructure will never match the level of material output, they say, and some experts have made accusations that producers are attempting to derail needed legislative change to maintain their profits. 

Circularizing plastics 
Innova Market Insights this year pegged “Plastics Circularization” as its top trend for 2023, noting an “increasing shift toward monomaterial films using LDPE and PP, for which recycling infrastructure already exists,” according to Akhil Eashwar Aiyar, projects leader at Innova Market Insights.

The market researcher also notes regulatory changes such as more stringent legislation like plastic packaging taxes, mandatory recycling goals and EPR and DRS schemes are incentivizing the circular economy transition, although recycled plastic remains expensive worldwide.

David Clark, vice president for sustainability at Amcor commented, “Our partnership with Delterra in Latin America has shown us that shared commitments enable great progress when working collaboratively.” 

“We understand the critical importance of stemming pollution at the source by designing waste out of the system and returning plastic into the value chain as recycled content. This strategic partnership is a milestone achievement toward this ultimate goal.”

The International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP), which promotes the importance and role of up to 56 million people working informally to collect plastic packaging trash across the globe, is being represented at the INC-2. 

In Latin America and the Caribbean, it is estimated that the informal sector provides 50-90% of the recyclable materials used by local industry or exported – yet only receives 5% of the profits.

By Louis Gore-Langton