INC-5.2 enters final stretch as Indo-Pacific seeks plastic waste trade justice

The UN Environment Assembly’s final negotiating session (INC-5.2) on a global plastic treaty has released a new draft as the talks are coming to an end. The discussions aim to forge a coordinated international response to plastic pollution, which disproportionately impacts marginalized communities.

Data from the UN Conference on Trade and Development shows that the legal trade in plastics, plastic products, and plastic waste has more than doubled since 2004, reaching nearly US$1.2 trillion in 2021. Single-use plastics are at the core of this profit-making.

“The UN Global Plastic Treaty can hold waste-exporting countries accountable for the environmental and health impacts of their plastic exports on developing nations. But this is only possible if certain critical elements are included in the treaty and enforced,” Mageswari Sangaralingam, honorary secretary of Sahabat Alam Malaysia, tells Packaging Insights.

“Among them is enforcing the polluter-pays principle and accountability across the plastic lifecycle, for the primary polluters, including plastics manufacturers and countries that export significant amounts of primary plastics, primary plastic polymers, and plastic products, to bear the full environmental and health costs of their activities. In addition, the treaty needs to ensure implementation of a tool to correct systemic inequities in the global waste trade.”

Upstream plastics prevention

Millions of tons of plastic waste from wealthy nations are being offloaded onto countries like Indonesia and Malaysia.Plastic waste trade is often marketed as recycling, and research suggests that it is shifting environmental burdens onto communities in less developed regions, including many Indo-Pacific countries, where imported waste is burned, buried, or abandoned, causing human health and ecological damage.

Indika Rajapaksha, environmental specialist at the Center for Environmental Justice, shares how Sri Lanka is a target for hazardous waste shipments: “The country is near the East-West maritime route, and we are at risk of environmental damage due to shipping accidents. The X-Press Pearl disaster in 2021, for example, was a major plastic spill in the Indian Ocean and is considered to be the worst maritime disaster to have hit the country.”

“The UN Global Plastic Treaty can play a major role in supporting those affected by the plastics crisis. That said, the treaty remains under threat by like-minded countries failing to address the impacts of upstream pollution. We need the Sri Lankan delegation to push for a focus on the whole life cycle of plastics.”

Other advocates have also spotlighted the need to create binding upstream measures while establishing binding criteria for safe plastic waste management.

Luna Hyein Yu from Korea Federation for Environmental Movements tells us: “Plastic pollution is a waste management problem and a production problem. Most plastics are made from fossil fuels, and global production is projected to triple by 2060 if we don’t take action now.” 

“Mandatory caps and reductions in primary plastic production will cut GHG emissions, reduce toxic pollution, and ease the burden on waste management systems worldwide. The UN Global Plastic Treaty is the first chance in history to set global, legally binding limits on plastic production. If we miss this opportunity, the plastic crisis will only accelerate.”

Policy and finance for human rights

In the Indo-Pacific, many countries, such as Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, are growing their plastic and recycling sectors while their vulnerable communities are exposed to toxic chemicals.Activists urge that the regional waste problems be addressed through strong public policies.

Last month, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Parliamentarians for Human Rights warned that “the plastic crisis represents a fundamental challenge to human rights protection and environmental justice.” 

“Addressing this crisis requires comprehensive policy responses that acknowledge the interconnected nature of plastic-related harms and prioritize the rights and well-being of affected communities.”

At last year’s negotiations in Busan, South Korea, the majority of countries showed their support for  a plastic treaty that covers the full life cycle of plastics, including reduction targets, phase-out of harmful chemicals, and a just transition and an equitable financial mechanism.

Sam Cossar, international program coordinator at Friends of the Earth International, says: “We are expecting finance for the Global South. It is important to recognize the impact of colonialism and asymmetries of development within the implementation, compliance, and outcome of the treaty.”

“The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should apply to finance under the UN Global Plastic Treaty, which should establish a dedicated global implementation fund with contributions from Global North countries to support Global South countries and economies in transition to comply with treaty obligations. New finance mechanisms should not be in the form of debt schemes, but rather grants.”