In partnership with the UK Government, OPLN will host the fourth series of the 

UK National Treaty Dialogues for Plastic Pollution

 - a multi-stakeholder convening programme designed to inform the UK position in the UN Plastics Treaty negotiations ahead of 

 in Ottawa, Canada on the 23rd - 29th of April, 2024.

This invitation-only programme composed of four sectoral meetings and a plenary session:

February 14th, Upstream Sectoral Session 

(oil & gas, petrochemicals and packaging converters)

February 15th, Midstream Sectoral Session

February 16th, Downstream Sectoral Session

James Smith, Deputy Director for Marine Policy, Defra said:

The UK strongly values the active and meaningful participation of stakeholders at all stages of the INC process, so we can take on board your expertise, knowledge and experiences to drive forward global change and bring us one step closer to tackling plastic pollution.”


The UK National Treaty Dialogues for Plastic Pollution commenced with the first session on November 1st, 2022, ahead of INC-1 in Uruguay. Since then, OPLN has brought together over 60 organisations across the UK plastics ecosystem systematically in conjunction with the official treaty schedule to inform the negotiations process of the Global Treaty for Plastic Pollution. In October, 2023 OPLN 

 for continuation of this program throughout the INC-5 with match funding from the UK government.

Reports from OPLN’s UK National Treaty Dialogues are available here:

: Punta del Este, Uruguay - November 2022

What to expect from the INC-4 UK National Dialogues Series?

Through dedicated working groups, the program prioritizes sectoral collaboration (upstream, midstream, downstream and ENGO & Academia) and informs cross-sectoral engagement through a plenary format.

The participants will have an opportunity to delve into the key treaty considerations first in a working group format and then jointly review and provide feedback on the contributions of other groups through the plenary session including presentations, panel discussions and breakout session.

stakeholder groups will focus on identifying minimum technical requirements for treaty provisions

International vs Nationally Determined Obligations

Sectoral Approach including Provisions and Exemptions

The program is supported by the stakeholder sentiment survey which enables effective and systemised identification of cross-sectoral alignment in relation to treaty text.

For example, during INC-3 convening, OPLN deployed a sentiment survey to capture further insights from the participants of the dialogues. Based on the multi-stakeholder survey responses we identified 5 cross sectoral areas of alignment:

 - Introduce measures on reporting that are standardized globally.

 - Take a sectoral approach to core obligations.

 - Introduce global obligations on transparency of plastic products.

 - Look to create conditions to encourage consistent, equitable and sustainable investments in waste management infrastructure, considering existing global disparities.

 - Introduce globally harmonized design standards for plastic polymers and products.


The survey also provided insights into areas of the Zero Draft text which require additional recommendations:

 - Respondents of the survey provided neutral or negative sentiment on leveraging existing funding mechanisms as a modality for UN Treaty means of implementation in the context of management and reporting of funds accrued and dispersed under the instrument.

 - Upstream, Downstream, NGO & Academia respondents agree that the Treaty for Plastic Pollution should address greenwashing and misleading environmental claims on alternative plastics.

- The survey results show that industry respondents lack alignment around production caps and establishing targets for virgin polymer production in some form

In 2023, The UK Dialogues brought together voices and perspectives from 46 impact organisations central to the plastics crisis, including stakeholders from:

Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing & Organizing (WIEGO)

The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP)

For questions about the programme or invitation requests , please contact:

OPLN will host UK Multi-Stakeholder Convening Series Ahead of INC-4 in Ottawa, Canada

The UK National Treaty Dialogues on Plastic Pollution: INC-3 Report is here!  

This comprehensive program report, officially unveiled at the Global Treaty Dialogues: INC-3 Digest on December 13th, 2023, captures a summary of the key takeaways from the UK National Treaty Dialogues on Plastic Pollution. Held virtually from October 20th to November 1st, 2023, these dialogues, hosted by OPLN in collaboration with the UK Government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), aimed to provide crucial insights and key recommendations for the Zero Draft text. The report, capturing discussions from diverse stakeholders, serves as a thorough guide for the UK Government on addressing plastic pollution. 

For a detailed overview of the recommendations, you can access the full report here.

These dialogues had two primary objectives: 

 on the intergovernmental negotiation process

 informing the UK's stance at the upcoming third meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Nairobi, Kenya, from November 13th to 19th, 2023.

Facilitated in collaboration with the UK Government, this program is a testament to the synergy between public and private sectors. 

To provide insights to this partnership, James Smith, Deputy Director for Marine Policy at Defra, shares an opening statement: 

"We know how important tackling plastic pollution is for health and the environment. We also know how crucial this new instrument will be in ending plastic pollution globally, and it is hugely important that we continue to work together as negotiations progress to ensure a workable and effective treaty. As founding members of the High Ambition Coalition to end plastic pollution, the UK is dedicated to ending plastic pollution by 2040. The UK strongly values the active and meaningful participation of stakeholders at all stages of the INC process, so we can take on board your expertise, knowledge and experiences to drive forward global change and bring us one step closer to tackling plastic pollution."

We are pleased to announce that the UK Government's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) has confirmed its continued support for the UK National Treaty Dialogues on Plastic Pollution programme.

 In a groundbreaking move, Defra will match funding contributed by industry donors, ensuring a robust initiative in line with the UN Plastics Treaty schedule (2022-2025). 

Stay in the know about this development by checking out the official press release 

Over a two-week period, stakeholders across the UK plastics ecosystem engaged in four focused sectoral meetings to assess sections of the Zero Draft text. This format aimed to address sector-specific concerns and promote dialogue on crucial topics. The final stage involved a multi-stakeholder plenary session, fostering collaborative discussions that transcended individual sectors, underlining the importance of cross-sectoral solutions. 

The UK Dialogues brought together voices and perspectives from 46 impact organizations central to the plastics crisis, including stakeholders from:

Throughout these sessions, the group discussed their individual provisions and potential options based on the Zero Draft, encompassing...

Problematic and avoidable products, including short-lived and single-use plastic products and intentionally added microplastics

Reduce, reuse, refill and repair of plastics and plastic products including fishing gear

Recycled plastic contents, alternative plastics and plastic products and non-plastic substitutes

Waste management including transboundary movement of plastic waste

Trade in listed chemicals, polymers and products, and in plastic waste

Existing plastic pollution,including in the marine environment

Monitoring, reporting and effective evaluation 

International cooperation, capacity-building, technical assistance and technology transfer

Each sector explored respective interventions capable of reducing and/or eliminating the potential environmental and social harm associated with each step of the plastics life cycle, and presented outcomes to representatives of the UK government and general audience during the UK Dialogues. 

On the 1st of November 2023, the Plenary session commenced. Guided by James Smith from Defra, this session seamlessly united stakeholders across the entire UK plastics ecosystem. The session was distinguished by a diverse panel of representatives, drawn from each sectoral meeting, offering a comprehensive debrief on their respective recommendations for the Zero Draft text to the engaged audience of 46 participating organizations. 

OPLN also deployed a sentiment survey to capture further insights from the participants of the dialogues. Based on the multi-stakeholder survey responses we identified 5 cross sectoral areas of alignment:

The Treaty for Plastic Pollution should...

Introduce measures on reporting that are standardized globally.

- Take a sectoral approach to core obligations.

- Introduce global obligations on transparency of plastic products.

- Look to create conditions to encourage consistent, equitable and sustainable investments in waste management infrastructure, considering existing global disparities.

- Introduce globally harmonized design standards for plastic polymers and products.

Respondents of the survey provided neutral or negative sentiment on leveraging existing funding mechanisms as a modality for UN Treaty means of implementation in the context of management and reporting of funds accrued and dispersed under the instrument.

Upstream, Downstream, NGO & Academia respondents agree that the Treaty for Plastic Pollution should address greenwashing and misleading environmental claims on alternative plastics.

The survey results show that industry respondents lack alignment around production caps and establishing targets for virgin polymer production in some form.

Where do UK Stakeholders Align on UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution - INC-3 Report Release

Mark your calendars: Session II of the UK National Treaty Dialogues is officially scheduled for 11th April 2023!

In partnership with the UK Government, Ocean Plastics Leadership Network (OPLN) is honoured to announce the second session of the United Kingdom National Treaty Dialogues on Plastic Pollution. This invitation-only neutral convening program brings together leading stakeholders across the plastic crisis ecosystem to collaborate on policy, science, and innovation in conjunction with the UN Plastic Treaty negotiation process. This is a fantastic opportunity for all sectors of the British plastic system to convene before the UN body meets in late May 2023.

The second session of the National Treaty Dialogues is scheduled for April 11th, 2023.

“Plastic pollution has a direct and deadly effect on our wildlife, polluting our ocean and damaging our planet,” said Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) during OPLN’s first session of the UK Treaty Dialogues.

“Our laws are already helping to cut waste domestically, and international action is needed to end plastic pollution by 2040. The first of the UK Treaty Dialogues was important in bringing together government, business and environmental organisations on this issue – it’s vital for us all to work together if we are to make progress in tackling plastic pollution globally.”

Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom 

On November 1, 2022, OPLN and the UK government convened the first UK Treaty Dialogue in preparation for the UK’s involvement in the First Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1), which took place November 26 through December 2, 2022 in Punta Del Este, Uruguay.

The first session of the UK Dialogues brought together voices and perspectives from 35 key impact stakeholders:

 Coca-Cola, Mondelez, Nestlé, Kimberly Clark, Unilever, Yum Brands

UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Stroud District Council

Recoup, A Plastic Planet, Common Seas, WRAP, EIA

BPF, Dow, Chemical Industries Association, American Chemistry Council

University of Plymouth, University of Oxford

If you’re interested in attending the dialogue session please reach out to marta@opln.org

As Session I of the UK National Treaty Dialogues informed UK inputs at INC-1, the supported contributions from Session II of the UK National Treaty Dialogues will be used to inform inputs at INC-2 and beyond. 

UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France from 29 May to 2 June 2023.

The provisional agenda of the second session of the INC to develop a treaty on plastic pollution  is out now - in English - below. Also, registration for INC-2 is now open in the registration tab on this page.

The second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment (INC-2) will take place from 29 May to 2 June 2023 at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Headquarters in Paris, France.

As INC-2 draws closer, we are offering members and other readers an overview of key points from INC-1 and the intersessional period. This will serve to draw out some key ideas from previous talks and help to engender an understanding of what to expect out of the next session.

On 28 January 2023, the INC-1 Chair in Punta del Este, Uruguay heard updated positions on the plastics treaty from stakeholders the world over. This discussion had evolved significantly since last year’s 

, with a renewed focus on topics such as:

just transition of lower-income countries,

a more unified, global understanding of waste hierarchy,

and mitigation of legacy plastics in the environment.

Luis Lacalle Pou, President of Uruguay at INC-1

From 26 November to 2 December 2022, representatives from 60 countries gathered to negotiate.

, shared his optimism on the road towards a treaty, noting that his nation had recently issued a unique environment bond valued at USD 1.5 billion. The Committee elected

 as INC Chair and decided that the chairmanship would alternate to 

UK stakeholders will convene on the UN Treaty for Plastic Pollution ahead of INC-2 

"We Need a Global Plastics Treaty to Stop an Environmental Disaster - and truly global participation in the process will create more than just a Paris Agreement for plastics"

. What follows is a key point from article that we at OPLN want to be sure to stress:

"Whatever is decided at UNEA 5.2, stakeholders the world over will need a forum to talk to one another and build towards a quick implementation of plans. We should have open, multisectoral dialogues in every country, with recurring sessions while the treaty is being negotiated. The ideas and stakeholder mapping—or finding out what everyone wants out of a treaty—in these talks should feed global negotiations, ultimately informing treaty negotiations in a more dynamic and time-sensitive manner. To that end, OPLN has already begun convening Country Dialogues for the global plastic treaty in Chile, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ghana and the United States.

Consider the

 two billion people in the world, largely in developing nations, who do not have access to waste management collection services

 and are forced to illegally dump or burn their waste. Or the 

15 to 20 million people among them who make their living selling plastic scrap

 that they find on streets, beaches and dumps to secondary recycled plastic markets. Both groups are a vital part of the plastics equation, and their interests must be represented at the negotiating table.

As our initial country-specific forums have taken place, we’ve started to see the chaos of the plastic crisis become just a bit more tangible. Waste-pickers from Accra, Ghana have expressed their concerns to a CEO based in San Francisco. An activist working to protect their fenceline community from the emissions of a refinery next door spoke directly with an executive from the company that owned it. This simply hasn’t happened in previous global treaty processes.

So while the U.N. is gathered in Nairobi, discussing, among other things, what it will take to stem the flow of plastics waste, we want to urge national leaders to support dialogues accessible to everyone, to quickly expand the scope of who is at the negotiating table in this global agreement.

Participation will be the lifeblood of the solution, and an unpopular treaty is sure to stall. Let’s set ourselves up for every holder of every stake to get involved as soon as possible—because there is no time to waste."

Read OPLN's Op-Ed In Scientific American

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On May 7th, the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network (OPLN) hosted the 

, bringing together key voices engaged in the negotiations for the Global Treaty on Plastic Pollution. 

Since the inaugural INC-1 in Punta Del Este, Uruguay, thousands of stakeholders and representatives from over 35 member states have joined OPLN’s informal multi-stakeholder forum following each negotiation. Despite the absence of a formal mandate for multi-stakeholder engagement in the negotiations, this forum has played a vital role in informing stakeholders across six continents about the evolution of the treaty negotiations.

Last month, our community was honored by the presence of 

Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (UNEP)

, who provided the opening remarks and INC-4 recap ahead of the series of presentations and panels. These sessions aimed to break down the complex treaty process into concise, digestible insights with help from renowned experts.

“During the 4th round of negotiations, members of the committee made steady progress in advancing the text of the instrument. Textual negotiations commenced at INC-4 based on the validated text by co-chairs and co-facilitators and at the request of the committee, the Secretariat will issue a compilation document drawn from the 5 non-papers prepared by the INC-4 subgroups which reflect the latest progress of the text…

Also, through active discussions, the committee agreed on a way forward for intersessional work and decided to establish 2 ad hoc intersessional open-ended expert groups. The 1st group will develop an analysis of potential sources and means that could be mobilized for the implementation of the objectives of the instrument and including options for the establishment of a financial mechanism and alignment of financial flows and catalyzing finance. The 2nd group will identify and analyze criteria and non-criteria based approaches with regard to plastic products and chemicals of concern in plastic products and product design focusing on recyclability and reusability of plastic products considering their uses and applications are multiple, but we will all start unpacking that very soon. And this is all for consideration by the committee at its 5th session. In addition, the committee decided to establish an open-ended legal drafting group which will conduct a legal review of any elements of the draft text with a view to ensuring that the text is reflected in a legalIn seven days, a massive amount of work was indeed carried out by the committee. Ottawa, with the involvement of thousands of participants, was larger than any other INC session to date. More than 2,500 delegates attended, representing 170 member states and over 480 observer organizations, including non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, and UN entities. The participation of observers in the last session increased by almost 50%. I personally felt inspired by meeting many new and previous INC delegates across the halls of the Shaw Centre. The tireless effort that everyone is putting into this work is a true example of the commitment to this process and a pledge to tackle plastic pollution. I am in awe of the non-stop dedication of the delegates of member states and observer organizations, some of whom are here today. Despite the very late hours, you were always present and dynamic in the room.

As we head to the Republic of Korea in November, let me also highlight the continued engagement of all stakeholders in this process. In the spirit of Resolution 514, all stakeholders play a vital role in driving attention to plastic pollution and amplifying the discussions beyond the negotiations. You are at the forefront of the issues. Your voices, including those of the most vulnerable—youth, indigenous peoples, women, and waste pickers—are very much needed.”

Ad Hoc Intersessional Open-ended Expert Groups

 Member states have decided to move forward with inter-sessional work on several critical topics: financial mechanisms, plastic products, chemicals of concern in plastic products, product design, reuseability and recyclability. 

 Over 50 Countries have advocated for the inclusion of primary plastic polymers within the scope of discussions. However, the consensus on this matter was not reached during the Ottawa session.

 The expert group's work will be co-chaired by Ms. Kate Lynch of Australia and Mr. Oliver Boachie of Ghana, bringing diverse perspectives and leadership to the discussions. 

 The Open-ended Expert Groups are scheduled to convene in the last week of August in Thailand, where they will continue their crucial work on shaping policies and strategies to combat plastic pollution. 

, moderated a discussion on the most pressing treaty topics, including Bridge to Busan Declaration, primary plastic polymers, problematic and avoidable plastic products, financial mechanisms, and reuse. 

The panel featured member state negotiators:

 - Plastic Pollution Negotiator, Federated States of Micronesia

 - UK Lead Negotiator on Plastic Pollution Treaty

 - Deputy Permanent Representative, UNEP Indonesia

 - Lead Negotiator - Oceans (AOSIS), Samoa

 - Lead Plastic Pollution Negotiator, United States

The Gist of It: Bridge to Busan - A Primary Plastic Polymers Declaration

Dennis Clare, Plastic Pollution Negotiator for the Federated States of Micronesia

, represented one of the 34 signatories of 

. He provided valuable insights into why this declaration is a critical one to track.

Global & National Priorities on Product Design, Reusability, and Recyclability

Dr. Julius Piercy, the UK Lead Negotiator on the Plastic Pollution Treaty

, provided insights on the UK's perspective regarding product design and material substitutions ahead of the critical intersessional work scheduled for August 2024 in Thailand.

Dr. Piercy emphasized the importance of product design, stating:

Larke Williams, Lead Plastic Pollution Negotiator for the United States

, shared the perspective of the US State Department on leveraging existing frameworks to craft effective and legally binding treaty text. 

She emphasized important lessons learned from the Montreal Protocol, particularly how science-based targets can lead the way.

37 years ago, scientists and policymakers unveiled what the United Nations calls “the most successful treaty in UN history.” On September 16, 1987, the first 24 nations signed on to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer; 173 more have signed on in the years since. The international agreement likely saved the world from an environmental crisis, while setting an example for how to develop and implement environmental policy.

Figure 1. Maximum ozone hole extent over the southern hemisphere, from 1979 to 2023

Prompted by scientific observations from the laboratory, the ground, aircraft, and satellites, the Montreal Protocol first reduced and then banned the chlorine- and bromine-based chemicals (particularly chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs) that destroy atmospheric ozone. The destruction of the ozone layer allows more of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation to reach the surface of the planet, increasing the risk of sunburns, skin cancer, and eye damage. The most prominent and infamous sign of depletion is the annual “ozone hole” that forms around the South Pole.

The UN Plastics Treaty represents a unique opportunity to mobilize world leaders, businesses, and communities around a common goal and action plan to bring plastic use within planetary boundaries and eliminate the plastic pollution wreaking havoc our planet.

As the provider of technology systems underpinning 88% of the world’s commerce, SAP is committed to delivering the digital solutions and innovations needed to enable the goals of the treaty at scale.

SAP is a long-term partner to the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network and has greatly benefited from learning, collaborating, and co-innovating on ideas within the Network. As a result, SAP's approach to developing technical solutions to advance the circular economy also focuses on ensuring businesses are ready to take on the challenges and opportunities that such a landmark treaty will represent. SAP Responsible Design and Production helps businesses navigate new regulations, standardize the approach to material measurement, support design processes that enable innovation and unlock solutions that will be sustainable for the long term.

We look forward to continuing our partnership and doing our part to see that plastic never becomes waste or pollution, and the value of products and materials is retained in the economy, as stated by Stephen Jamieson, Global Head of Circular Economy solutions at SAP.

 to find out more about SAP’s circular economy software solutions and learn how SAP Responsible Design and Production can help your business transition to more sustainable products and packaging.

Tracking with the Plastic Pollution Treaty: INC-4 Aftermath, Intersessionals in Thailand, and the Road to INC-5 in South Korea

A sunset panorama of Mullion Cove in Cornwall

Alok Sharma, President of COP26 in Glasgow, said in March of 2021 that 

“demand is snowballing for commencing negotiations on a new global agreement to tackle marine plastic litter.” In the UK over the past year, this demand has manifested in several ways among different key stakeholder groups.

Alok Sharma speaks at COP26 in November 2021

Beyond the UK Government’s support for a new treaty to 

, there are a multitude of intersecting domestic efforts to curb plastic pollution. What follows is a summary of multiple reports on plastics over the past few years from four different stakeholder groups in the plastics crisis: 

. Taken together, this can be seen as a cross-section of domestic stakeholder views on plastic in the leadup to the 

UK Plastic Treaty Dialogues and INC-1 in November 2022

OPLN is a neutral convener of stakeholders. The inclusion of reports here does not imply favor for any one viewpoint. Subsequent OPLN media installments will include reports from more stakeholders and stakeholder groups.

briefing paper on plastic waste in the UK

 (published March 2022) offers a range of useful information of recent government positions on the plastics issue, including information on the UK Government’s and devolved Governments' plans and ambitions to reduce avoidable plastic waste.

The UK has various obligations under international and national law relating to the shipment of waste abroad, particularly under the 

UN Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal (the Basel Convention)

. The Basel Convention has been recently amended to require that a 

 is used for the shipment of certain types of plastic waste.

The Scottish Government has consulted on 

 (DRS), expected to begin in August 2023. DRS infrastructure, such as reverse vending machines, will start rolling out from summer 2022. Work is planned to introduce schemes across the rest of the UK in due course.

 since its launch in 2018. GPAP brings together world leaders, decision-makers, and industry to take collaborative action on tackling plastic pollution in developing countries. GPAP has so far established partnerships in Indonesia, Ghana, Vietnam, Pakistan, Nigeria and the state of Maharashtra (India).

The UK’s contribution to GPAP supports the development of inclusive, multi-stakeholder platforms, with the aim of engaging 25 countries by the year 2025. The activities funded through this programme will help tackle the threat of plastic waste before it enters the ocean and support the transition to a circular economy.

The UK supports the collaborative efforts of GPAP and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), a UK based NGO working globally to reduce the environmental costs of the food, clothing and plastic packaging we use. See the following press release for further information:

WRAP and GPAP Partner to Tackle Global Plastic Pollution together

 was the first to demonstrate the widespread occurrence of microscopic particles in the environment. Work led by 

 showed that particles which he described as ‘microplastic’ had accumulated in the oceans since the 1960s and were now widespread.

The work of tracking plastic pollution in the environment continues at Plymouth through various projects, among them 

. Started in 2020 and funded through 2024, the project brings together internationally recognised polymer scientists, marine and terrestrial biologists and ecotoxicologists to assess biodegradable plastics and their effect on the environment.

: “For years, biodegradable materials – including plant-based bioplastics – have been highlighted for their potential to reduce the environmental impact of packaging waste. However, there hasn’t been the detailed research to identify precisely how that might be achieved. Through this project, we hope to establish, in the open environment as opposed to managed waste systems, what works and what doesn’t, in terms of the materials’ characteristics and effects.”

Recent updates from Plymouth show some new tech being implemented to track microplastics. Francesca De Falco, a research fellow on BIO-PLASTIC-RISK, 

posted pictures of new Py-GCxGC-TOFMS machines on location

, these machines use Pyrolysis (Py) in combination with Comprehensive Gas Chromatography (GCxGC) and Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (TOF-MS). While other analytic strategies are more commonly used, Py-GCxGC-TOFMS “requires minimal sample preparation and provides powerful chromatographic separation with high quality deconvoluted mass spectral data.

: “Fantastic to have this working, well done for all the hard work. This will add a new dimension to our

The Environmental Investigation Agency, a UK-registered charity that works on a range of environmental campaigns, is one of the leading organizations in the global plastics treaty process and domestic efforts to end plastic pollution in the environment.

A series of recent reports and thought-starters from the EIA and its collaborators over the years have laid out major problems with plastic use in the UK, and have considered in detail what a successful global plastic treaty would look like. 

For three years in a row, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) and Greenpeace UK surveyed the major supermarkets and grocery retailers in the on their efforts to reduce plastic pollution. The full report of this effort, along with company scorecards, is available 

Some of EIA’s recommendations to plastics stakeholders included:

Addressing the drivers of single-use packaging

. Promote shorter supply chains and seasonal produce; ban excessive packaging used for marketing objectives

. Avoid false solutions involving non-conventional plastics (bio-based, biodegradable, compostable). In cases where biodegradable packaging must be used, it should be certified to British Standard EN 13432 and only sold in municipalities which have the appropriate industrial composting/anaerobic digestion facilities.

. Introduce requirements for suppliers to implement best practice measures to prevent plastic pellet loss, with third party auditing and reporting requirements. Ensure that certification to the Publicly Available Standard (PAS) on pellet loss, adopted in July 2021, is a universal obligation for all relevant actors in their supply chain.

Scorecard from Checking out on Plastics III 

Initial Considerations for a Plastics Treaty (2022)

"We have the tools, now let’s build the house."

Soon after the UNEA 5.2 Resolution, EIA provided their initial considerations of key paragraphs in the text of the resolution. EIA's briefing, which can be found in full here, considers two operative paragraphs of the treaty. The report concludes as follows:

"The adoption of UNEA Resolution 5/14 was a historic moment in international environmental policymaking. While the task at hand may seem daunting, a substantial body of work has already been undertaken in preparation for the negotiations, not least the discussions and research delivered by the Ad-hoc Open-Ended Expert Working Group on Marine Litter and Microplastics.

We are not starting from scratch and, in other instruments, have effective models from which to draw inspiration, particularly the Montreal Protocol which is widely considered the most successful MEA (multilateral environmental agreement) in the world."

Additionally, EIA's microsite on the plastics treaty can be found 

Large Companies - Tesco and Sainsbury’s

From September 2021, Tesco has provided customers in ten large Tesco stores in the east of England with a choice to reduce their plastic footprint. Through a partnership with Loop, a global reusable packaging platform, Tesco has offered 88 products in reusable containers on which customers pay a refundable 20p deposit.

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