Kickstart: Crafting a plastics treaty

We're a little more than five weeks out from the next round of the United Nations plastics treaty discussions — April 23-29 in Ottawa, Ontario — and pressure is mounting from every angle for representatives to craft the perfect agreement.

Not that people agree just what a perfect agreement would be, of course.

The Business Coalition for a Global Business Treaty, made up more than 200 global brand owners, is calling for extended producer responsibility rules for packaging and a phaseout of "problematic plastics."

Environmental groups, including the World Wildlife Foundation, want to see "all unnecessary plastic products that pose a high pollution risk" eased out of the marketplace.

Last week, the American Chemistry Council asked President Joe Biden for a meeting to voice its opinion on negotiations. National action plans to improve recycling and sustainability are needed, ACC said, but the treaty must avoid risks to beneficial aspects of plastics, Plastics News' Steve Toloken writes.

"We are concerned that the negotiations are moving away from the original intent of the [United Nations Environment Assembly] resolution to end plastic pollution and instead turning into an activist wish list to end plastic," said Ross Eisenberg, president of America's Plastics Makers, a unit of ACC.

The pressure for public policy focused on the plastics industry isn't unique to the United States, of course. Legislators in the European Union are nearing approval of a Packaging and Plastics Waste Reduction (PPWR) package that would see limits on PFAS, single-use plastics and new rules on recycled content in packaging.

The European regulations would go well beyond most discussions in the U.S. At the same time, the U.S. industry has benefited from infrastructure investments courtesy of new federal spending. As PN Editor Don Loepp noted recently, that has left some international companies feeling as if their U.S. competitors have an unfair advantage.

"So the chemical industry in Europe has been calling for legislation and policy that includes more government investment, and they hold up the U.S. as an example to emulate," Don wrote.

That's not to say that the U.S. industry doesn't have cause for its concerns, of course, or that European companies are stuck on an uneven playing field.

Instead, it may show just how strong the need is for an international agreement, even if the path isn't clear.

The Plastics Industry Association, Alliance Specialties and Laser Sales and the nonprofit group U.S. Hunger hope some of the estimated 55,000 visitors at NPE2024 will help feed thousands of people.

On Wednesday, May 8, NPE will host its first community service event, aiming to pack 20,000 meals for the hungry in Orlando, Fla., the site of North America's largest trade show.

Volunteers should head to meeting room W208C in the West Building of the Orange County Convention Center between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to help pack the meals. Financial donations can also be sent to U.S. Hunger here.