World Plastics Council And Global Plastics Alliance Calls For Ending Plastic Pollution Through This

Illustration: (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Ahead of the final round of negotiations scheduled for international agreements to end plastic pollution, the World Plastics Council (WPC) and members of the Global Plastics Alliance (GPA) are calling on the national government to agree on an ambitious and implementable agreement, which significantly increases waste management and recycling.

In the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC5) which will begin on Monday, November 25, in Busan, South Korea, negotiators from the national government are expected to reach an agreement on a number of important topics, including a model that will be used by binding international legal instruments (Internationally Legally Binding Instruments/ILBI) to help countries deal with plastic waste.

In this context, the WPC and the GPA call for negotiators to reach an agreement that respects the needs of each country as well as establish a joint framework to end plastic pollution by 2040.

Benny Mermans, Chairman of the WPC, stated that each country faces very different challenges and requires a different solution. A unified global approach to policies and regulations will not work.

"Therefore, this agreement must provide flexibility for each country and region to achieve the purpose of the agreement in the most appropriate way for them," he explained, in a written statement, Wednesday, November 27.

The final agreement must reach the right balance between global obligations and national measures. This agreement must require countries to develop a national action plan so that they can implement solutions that are tailored to their conditions effectively.

For example, the mandatory recycling content target for sectors that use plastic at the national level will increase the value of plastic waste as a circuit raw material by increasing demand for circular plastic raw materials. The plan must have general elements and reporting requirements that ensure the country's accountability in tracking progress and creating demand signals to encourage investment in collection, sorting, and recycling.

Edi Rivai, Deputy Chairperson of INAPLAS Indonesian Representative at Global Plastics Alliance, said that transitioning to a circular plastic system, where all plastic applications are reused, recycled, and managed responsibly instead of being disposed of, is the key to dealing with plastic waste problems.

"Transition to a circular economy will reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), increase resource efficiency, encourage economic development, and create jobs, especially in countries with underdeveloped waste management and recycling infrastructure," he said.

Edi Rivai, Deputy Chairperson of INAPLAS Indonesia Representative at Global Plastics Alliance continued, building circularity in the entire plastic life cycle starting from design, recycling, to managing the end of the responsible service' and developing a waste management system that fits the needs should be the main foundation of this agreement.

The most effective way to achieve the purpose of the agreement, while maintaining the benefits of plastic for the community, is to make plastic waste a commodity that has real value.

Plastics allow the use of wind and solar power, improve building and transportation efficiency, maintain food security, improve infrastructure, and support modern health services. Therefore, this agreement must recognize that plastic is needed to achieve sustainable development goals and deal with climate change.

This agreement must also recognize that unmanaged waste is the main cause of pollution, and prioritizes providing adequate waste management for about 2.7 billion people who have not received it.

Benny Mermans added, at the World Plastics Council, his party has spent the last 18 months bringing together various stakeholders to discuss how best to overcome one of the biggest challenges in the era of ending plastic pollution.

This discussion is focused on identifying ambitious similarities and solutions, can be implemented practically, and allows people across countries around the world to continue to benefit from plastic for their economic development and growth. The discussion also emphasizes that with focus, a sense of urgency, and compromise, successful results from negotiations can be achieved, "explained Benny.