Why UN talks this week focus on just one word: Plastics

Hundreds of diplomats from around the world are in Paris this week, working on what is expected to become the world’s first legally binding international treaty on plastic pollution. 

While pretty much everyone involved in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for Plastics agrees that there’s a problem – the world produces some 400 million tons of plastic waste every year – figuring out what to do about it is far harder. This is true even beyond the bureaucratic corridors of the United Nations. 

Plastic, in many ways, presents not only a waste and pollution challenge, but also a lifestyle one, with a slew of ethical, social justice, and environmental considerations.

Hundreds of municipalities have banned different types of single-use plastics, such as plastic bags or water bottles. But plastic consumption overall has grown – and some advocates say that putting the pressure on consumers to find ways to avoid plastic, when their world is literally coated in it, is unfair. 

Similarly, some advocates say that recycling efforts are a distraction, and they simply allow the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries to continue making money from a product that everyone agrees is harmful. They say the world should regulate how much plastic is made in the first place.

How ambitious to be is a controversial topic in Paris, as is how to apportion the burden of responsibility among governments, corporations, and individuals. Many advocates say that while reusable water bottles are great, true change has to happen from the top down as well as from the bottom up.  

“Ultimately, we need the trifecta of policy development, individual behavior change, and corporate commitments,” says Alejandra Warren, co-founder and executive director of the grassroots group Break Free From Plastics, which works with marginalized communities in California to lower their plastic exposure. “Nothing is happening without those three elements.”