BUSAN (AP) — The world’s nations will wrap up negotiating a treaty this weekend to address the global plastic pollution crisis.
As their meeting concludes Sunday or early Monday in Busan, South Korea, here’s what to know about plastics:
The use of plastics has quadrupled over the past 30 years. Plastic is ubiquitous. And every day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes, the UN said . Most nations agreed to make the first global, legally binding plastic pollution accord, including in the oceans, by the end of 2024.
The production and use of plastics globally is set to reach 736 million tons by 2040 , according to the intergovernmental Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Panama is leading an effort to address the exponential growth of plastic production as part of the treaty, supported by more than 100 countries. There’s just too much plastic, said Juan Carlos Monterrey, head of Panama’s delegation.
“If we don’t have production in this treaty, it is not only going to be horribly sad, but the treaty may as well be called the greenwashing recycling treaty, not the plastics treaty,” he said in an interview. “Because the problem is not going to be fixed.”
China was by far the biggest exporter of plastic products in 2023, followed by Germany and the U.S., according to the Plastics Industry Association.
Together, the three nations account for 33% of the total global plastics trade, the association said.
Less than 10% of plastics are recycled. Most of the world’s plastic goes to landfills, pollutes the environment, or is burned.
The International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Plastics held an event about the impact of plastics Saturday on the sidelines of the talks. They want the treaty to fully recognize their rights, and the universal human right to a healthy, clean, safe and sustainable environment. Juan Mancias of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Nation in Texas spoke about feeling a spiritual connection to the land.
“Five hundred years ago, we had clean water, clean air and there was no plastics,” he said. “What happened?”
About 40% of all plastics are used in packaging, according to the UN. This includes single-use plastic food and beverage containers — water bottles, takeout containers, coffee lids, straws and shopping bags — that often end up polluting the environment.
U.N. Environment Program Executive Director Inger Andersen told negotiators in Busan the treaty must tackle this problem.
“Are there specific plastic items that we can live without, those that so often leak into the environment? Are there alternatives to these items? This is an issue we must agree on,” she said.
