Behind the scenes of the plastic pollution treaty negotiations in Paris


Louise Sallé / Photo credit: STEPHANE MOUCHMOUCHE / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP

In the vast hall of UNESCO, discussions resonate in all languages: representatives of 175 countries each defending their positions. The European Union and Canada, for example, want to reduce plastic production. Others are more reluctant, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, which have prevented concrete discussions from taking place.

A “disconcerting” start to negotiations

Senator Angèle Préville, co-author of a parliamentary report on plastic pollution, attended this first day of negotiations: “It started with a voting problem with the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia, which intervened several times … So it was very disconcerting because the discussions were not about the substance”, she regrets at the microphone of Europe 1.

In the corridors, between each voting session, NGOs and plastics manufacturers meet state delegations. Rodrigo Leiva is Chilean. He represents an international association of packaging companies that advocates the reduction of certain types of plastics – “polymers” – only.

“Plastic is essential”

“We agree to reduce the quantity of authorized polymers, to use more recyclable materials”, he summarizes. “But plastic is essential,” he insists. “There are NGOs that want to make plastic disappear and that is not a solution… So getting everyone to agree is a big challenge”, concedes this lobbyist.

To which Diane, from the NGO Surfrider France, replies: “We will have to reduce the number of resins that we put on the market, in order to favor those which are the least toxic and the most recyclable, but the devil will be in the details,” she warns. “What types of resins, of chemical elements are we going to ban? This is where it will be tense, because on the NGO side, we want a fairly restrictive list to reduce the toxicity of plastics”, she comments. . “But for others, the list may be more extensive.”

“Plastics are not infinitely recyclable”

For Angèle Preville, finally. focusing only on recyclable materials is a false solution. “Plastics are not infinitely recyclable, but only two or three times, and some recycled plastics are even more toxic than primary plastics, with the added substances and additives that can be put in them”, details t -She. “In any case, we have a flow problem and we will not be able to collect the quantity of plastic produced, even recyclable”, she underlines.

By 2060, plastic production must indeed triple compared to today, while less than 10% of this annual production is recycled. Nevertheless, despite these dissensions, the hope of arriving by the end of the week on a draft text with objectives, even imprecise, remains anchored in everyone’s mind.



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