Life in plastic ain’t fantastic – the world is finally getting that, and finally accepting that plastic pollution is a global problem that requires a unified, global response.
In June, 170 countries agreed to prepare a “zero draft” text of a legally binding agreement on tackling plastic Pollution by April 2024.
The treaty has an unusually ambitious timescale for globally binding agreements. The next round of talks in Kenya are scheduled for this fall, ahead of the publication of the zero draft and the final agreement is planned for late 2024. If that happens, countries are expected to incorporate the treaty into national laws in 2025.
“This mandate was hard fought for, but at least provides a clear direction of travel towards starting to draft the plastics treaty in earnest,” Christina Dixon told The Guardian. She is the ocean campaign leader at the Environmental Investigation Agency.
Globally 400 million tons of plastic waste are produced each year. About 14 million tons of this ends up in our oceans.
Plastic waste has now infiltrated some of the planet’s most remote and pristine areas. A wide range of impacts are occurring on the environment, wildlife, and human health, including choking and starving wildlife, worsening flooding by blocking waterways, and exacerbating air pollution.
Eliminating plastic pollution will require a radical rethink of how this material is produced, used, and disposed of, and that in turn will require setting up reliable and effective compliance mechanisms. As the editors of Nature pointed out in a recent editorial: “So far however the negotiations do not include a specific plan to hold countries accountable for the
pledges and promises they make on behalf of their plastics producers, exporters, and recyclers. It is clear this must change – and fast.”
Plastic is everywhere – in the oceans, in our food, and even in our bodies. Americans generate roughly 40 million tons of plastic waste each year and ingest 240,000 bits of nanoplastic with every bottle of water. Democratic leaders in Congress are trying to pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act of 2023. This will help keep plastics out of our landfills by holding the companies that make them accountable. Ask your representatives to support the law today!
The Sierra Club makes it easy to take action: https://tinyurl.com/SCplasticAction
In person, visit the Sierra Club Santa Barbara – Ventura Chapter booth at the Community Environmental Earth Day Festival on April 27 and 28.