Around 180 countries, except the United States, in Geneva, agreed to a deal on May 10, 2019 that would sharply reduce the amount of plastic being washed into the world’s oceans.
- The legally binding framework for reducing plastic waste means countries will have to monitor and track thousands of types of plastic waste outside their borders.
- The deal was struck after 1,400 representatives met for 12 days of discussions at a United Nations Environment Program meeting in Geneva. The deal essentially updates the 1989 Basel Convention on the control of hazardous waste to include plastic.
- IPEN umbrella group science adviser Sara Brosche said: “For far too long developed countries like the US and Canada have been exporting their mixed toxic plastic wastes to developing Asian countries claiming it would be recycled in the receiving country. Instead, much of this contaminated mixed waste cannot be recycled and is instead dumped or burned, or finds its way into the ocean.”
- Plastic waste in the sea is set to increase tenfold and with current trends, by 2050, there may be more plastic than fish in the oceans. Today, 2 billion people live in areas without garbage collection. The poorest of the poor suffer the most.
- Pollution from plastic waste, acknowledged as a major environmental problem of global concern, has reached epidemic proportions with an estimated 100 million tonnes of plastic now found in the oceans, 80-90% of which comes from land-based sources.
About the Basel Convention
- The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal is the most comprehensive international environmental agreement on hazardous and other wastes and is almost universal, with 187 Parties.
About the Rotterdam Convention
- The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure (PIC) for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, is jointly administered by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN Environment (UNEP). The 161 Parties to this legally-binding Convention share responsibility and cooperate to safely manage chemicals in international trade. As of the end of this COP, 52 chemicals and pesticides are listed in its Annex III.
