Operation Clean Sweep cites global wins, but critics say it's not enough

Ottawa, Ontario — Pellet pollution losses from plastics factories and transportation have not been a major topic at plastics treaty talks yet, but negotiations could bring big changes to those efforts.

That's because the draft treaty includes language requiring countries to have pellet control laws. Both the plastics industry and environmental groups are at the talks in Canada trying to shape the outcome.

The plastics industry released a report April 20 highlighting its 30-year-old voluntary program known as Operation Clean Sweep. Representatives also held a reception for diplomats on the sidelines of the negotiations in Ottawa, focusing on changes companies have made in recent years to strengthen that program.

Environmental groups, for their part, have held two webinars recently to push for the treaty to require mandatory — not voluntary — controls. They're in Ottawa as well, arguing that voluntary programs are inadequate.

At the April 20 event, the industry's OCS program released its first annual report documenting recent growth of OCS and its impact, including from the first public reporting of spill and containment data from 2020 to 2022.

Charlotte Dreizen, director of sustainability and environment at the Plastics Industry Association, said OCS wants to demonstrate that an industry-led stewardship program can "accomplish many of those goals that stakeholders and civil society are identifying, that many jurisdictions and governments have pointed to as well."

"As we increase the strength and rigor of Operation Clean Sweep, we aim to position that as a valid and credible opportunity for industry to lead those efforts in complement to many of the laws and regulations where they exist," she said, speaking April 20 in Ottawa.

Dreizen said new pellet control laws being developed in Europe are considering OCS as a potential compliance pathway.

But nongovernmental organizations said voluntary measures like OCS have not been enough. They point to Formosa Plastics paying a $50 million court settlement over pellet pollution in Texas in 2019 and a high-profile spill off the Spanish coast in 2023 that drew media and government attention as evidence that more controls are needed.

They say their research shows that tough control measures can reduce pellet loss by 95 percent.

"Industry and government initiatives to try to address this problem so far have not been effective," said Jamie Clarkson, a project officer for Fidra, a Scottish charity active in pellet issues. "This is often due to the fact that they are either focused on only a small part of the global plastics pellet supply chain, or they are voluntary measures.

"But this plastic pellet pollution is preventable," he said. "With best practices implemented throughout the global plastics supply chain, up to 95 percent of plastic [pellet] pollution could be prevented."

Speaking on an April 8 webinar, Clarkson said since the last round of treaty talks in November, the European Union is considering legislation on pellet pollution, the International Maritime Organization has adopted voluntary measures for shipping and new language has appeared in the draft treaty up for review in Canada.

Amy Youngman, a lawyer with the Environmental Investigation Agency, said the treaty should "make sure that we avoid what we have now, which is for the last 30 years having these loose voluntary measures without third-party verification, which continue to allow pellet spills to occur unabated despite having these voluntary best practices."

One option in the treaty would require signatory countries to adopt pellet laws, and environmental groups see that as an opportunity.

A second webinar they organized, on April 17, discussed the treaty and discharge standards that could be in laws, as well as including U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., outlining legislation he introduced in March directing the Environmental Protection Agency to write new industrial standards for pellet loss.

"Whether it's beaches, wetlands or waterways, I think the ecological threats [and] the health threats being posed by plastic pellets must be addressed," Levin said. "Of course, the petrochemical and the fossil fuel folks will push back on everything we try to do, but we just have to try to stay persistent."

The head of the Plastics Industry Association said the group prefers the treaty connect its focus to standards like OCS and said he was hesitant to endorse mandates.

"I think we would all prefer to see targets, goals and standards be the primary mechanism for what nations are supposed to hit," said President and CEO Matt Seaholm. "However, encouragement of national policies that require facilities to adhere to standards consistent with OCS, yeah, we would support something like that.

"We believe that every plastic manufacturing facility should adhere to the standards of OCS, whether that's part of the program or separate," he said.

The new OCS report highlights growth in its programs worldwide — in 65 countries — as well as the expansion of data reporting and third-party inspection and verification measures.

It said it launched inspection programs last year within OCS initiatives in Europe, the United States and Turkey and plans to launch general OCS programs in India, China and Ghana this year.

As well, OCS earlier this year started efforts tailored to logistics and rail companies shipping resin.

Dreizen said more than 50 percent of U.S. resin manufacturing is reporting its OCS data.

"This will be the first time that we're sharing some of these high-level trends that we're observing," she said. "With the expansion of reporting to many more countries this past year, and the increasing in the frequency of that reporting, we're optimistic this will give us the ability to do that on a broader basis, not only for the U.S. but for the fuller international contingent of OCS programs in the future."

OCS, jointly operated by the plastics association and the American Chemistry Council, plans its first conference on the program Sept. 10-12 in Houston. Dreizen said it will include tours of facilities running OCS programs.

The OCS effort hopes that the report can help diplomats and others negotiating the plastics treaty understand the industry's efforts, Dreizen said.

"We're really hoping that this reception, where we'll be highlighting so many of those elements in the annual report, is an opportunity for all those decision-makers and influencers in the [treaty] process to get a much better understanding of what that looks like in practice for industry to work collaboratively towards that goal of zero resin loss," she said.