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Everything you need to know for the fourth round of global plastic pollution treaty talks

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Monday, April 8, 2024

The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international, legally binding plastic pollution treaty will take place from April 23 to April 29 in Ottawa, Canada.In the first three sessions of treaty talks, negotiators from about 175 countries — along with industry representatives, environmentalists and others — met to advance a treaty to address global plastic pollution. What’s at stake in the plastic treaty talks? The plastic crisis is threatening both the planet and human and wildlife health. Global plastic waste is set to almost triple by 2060.The world generates roughly 400 million tons of plastic waste each year.Less than 10% of plastic ever made has been recycled. The treaty is the first international attempt to address this. What’s the state of the plastic treaty? Consensus was elusive at the last round of talks in Kenya. There is a High Ambition Coalition of countries that wants an end to plastic pollution by 2040. There is also a Global Coalition for Plastics Sustainability — largely nations economically reliant on fossil fuels such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Cuba, China and Bahrain — that has positioned itself as the counterbalance to the High Ambition Coalition and is pushing for a larger focus on addressing plastic waste (via chemical and mechanical recycling and other means) rather than plastic bans or production limits. The U.S. is not part of either. Some sticking points include: Regulating the chemicals in plastic productionPlastic production capsThe role of chemical recycling and bioplastics Where can I learn more about the plastic treaty?You can see all of the details of the upcoming treaty meeting at the UN Environment Programme website. Want to learn more broadly about the treaty and how plastic pollution impacts our health? Our newsroom has been hard at work on exploring these issues. Below we have articles to help you understand the treaty process and progress, plastic impacts to our health and chemical recycling and bioplastics.And follow our newsroom on X, Instagram or Facebook to stay up-to-date on this historic treaty.Plastic treaty coverage “Plastic will overwhelm us:” Scientists say health should be the core of global plastic treaty Opinion: Pete Myers discusses the "Health Scientists' Global Plastic Treaty" Plastics treaty draft underway, but will the most impacted countries be included? Opinion: UN plastics treaty should prioritize health and climate change Op-Ed: How the United Nations could avoid silencing voices during Plastic Treaty negotiations Scientists: US needs to support a strong global agreement to curb plastic pollutionPlastic and our healthWhat is plastic pollution? Plastic chemicals are more numerable and less regulated than previously thought Recycling plastics “extremely problematic” due to toxic chemical additives Every stage of plastic production and use is harming human health Massive new database on how plastic chemicals harm our healthChemical recycling and bioplasticsWhat is chemical recycling? Bioplastics: sustainable solution or distraction from the plastic waste crisis? Chemical recycling grows — along with concerns about its environmental impacts This will be a big year in shaping the future of chemical recycling Chemical recycling “a dangerous deception” for solving plastic pollution: Report Paused Ohio chemical recycling plant puts spotlight on Appalachia as “prime target” for the controversial practice Residents fear Pennsylvania, West Virginia chemical recycling proposals will deepen fossil fuel ties and pollution problems Q&A: Director of sustainability at Eastman Chemical Company talks chemical recyclingLatest chemical recycling plant closing spurs concern over the industry’s viability

The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international, legally binding plastic pollution treaty will take place from April 23 to April 29 in Ottawa, Canada.In the first three sessions of treaty talks, negotiators from about 175 countries — along with industry representatives, environmentalists and others — met to advance a treaty to address global plastic pollution. What’s at stake in the plastic treaty talks? The plastic crisis is threatening both the planet and human and wildlife health. Global plastic waste is set to almost triple by 2060.The world generates roughly 400 million tons of plastic waste each year.Less than 10% of plastic ever made has been recycled. The treaty is the first international attempt to address this. What’s the state of the plastic treaty? Consensus was elusive at the last round of talks in Kenya. There is a High Ambition Coalition of countries that wants an end to plastic pollution by 2040. There is also a Global Coalition for Plastics Sustainability — largely nations economically reliant on fossil fuels such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Cuba, China and Bahrain — that has positioned itself as the counterbalance to the High Ambition Coalition and is pushing for a larger focus on addressing plastic waste (via chemical and mechanical recycling and other means) rather than plastic bans or production limits. The U.S. is not part of either. Some sticking points include: Regulating the chemicals in plastic productionPlastic production capsThe role of chemical recycling and bioplastics Where can I learn more about the plastic treaty?You can see all of the details of the upcoming treaty meeting at the UN Environment Programme website. Want to learn more broadly about the treaty and how plastic pollution impacts our health? Our newsroom has been hard at work on exploring these issues. Below we have articles to help you understand the treaty process and progress, plastic impacts to our health and chemical recycling and bioplastics.And follow our newsroom on X, Instagram or Facebook to stay up-to-date on this historic treaty.Plastic treaty coverage “Plastic will overwhelm us:” Scientists say health should be the core of global plastic treaty Opinion: Pete Myers discusses the "Health Scientists' Global Plastic Treaty" Plastics treaty draft underway, but will the most impacted countries be included? Opinion: UN plastics treaty should prioritize health and climate change Op-Ed: How the United Nations could avoid silencing voices during Plastic Treaty negotiations Scientists: US needs to support a strong global agreement to curb plastic pollutionPlastic and our healthWhat is plastic pollution? Plastic chemicals are more numerable and less regulated than previously thought Recycling plastics “extremely problematic” due to toxic chemical additives Every stage of plastic production and use is harming human health Massive new database on how plastic chemicals harm our healthChemical recycling and bioplasticsWhat is chemical recycling? Bioplastics: sustainable solution or distraction from the plastic waste crisis? Chemical recycling grows — along with concerns about its environmental impacts This will be a big year in shaping the future of chemical recycling Chemical recycling “a dangerous deception” for solving plastic pollution: Report Paused Ohio chemical recycling plant puts spotlight on Appalachia as “prime target” for the controversial practice Residents fear Pennsylvania, West Virginia chemical recycling proposals will deepen fossil fuel ties and pollution problems Q&A: Director of sustainability at Eastman Chemical Company talks chemical recyclingLatest chemical recycling plant closing spurs concern over the industry’s viability



The fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an international, legally binding plastic pollution treaty will take place from April 23 to April 29 in Ottawa, Canada.

In the first three sessions of treaty talks, negotiators from about 175 countries — along with industry representatives, environmentalists and others — met to advance a treaty to address global plastic pollution.

What’s at stake in the plastic treaty talks? 


The plastic crisis is threatening both the planet and human and wildlife health.

  • Global plastic waste is set to almost triple by 2060.
  • The world generates roughly 400 million tons of plastic waste each year.
  • Less than 10% of plastic ever made has been recycled.

The treaty is the first international attempt to address this.

What’s the state of the plastic treaty? 


Consensus was elusive at the last round of talks in Kenya.

There is a High Ambition Coalition of countries that wants an end to plastic pollution by 2040. There is also a Global Coalition for Plastics Sustainability — largely nations economically reliant on fossil fuels such as Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, Cuba, China and Bahrain — that has positioned itself as the counterbalance to the High Ambition Coalition and is pushing for a larger focus on addressing plastic waste (via chemical and mechanical recycling and other means) rather than plastic bans or production limits. The U.S. is not part of either.

Some sticking points include:

  • Regulating the chemicals in plastic production
  • Plastic production caps
  • The role of chemical recycling and bioplastics

Where can I learn more about the plastic treaty?


You can see all of the details of the upcoming treaty meeting at the UN Environment Programme website.

Want to learn more broadly about the treaty and how plastic pollution impacts our health? Our newsroom has been hard at work on exploring these issues. Below we have articles to help you understand the treaty process and progress, plastic impacts to our health and chemical recycling and bioplastics.

And follow our newsroom on X, Instagram or Facebook to stay up-to-date on this historic treaty.

Plastic treaty coverage 


“Plastic will overwhelm us:” Scientists say health should be the core of global plastic treaty

Opinion: Pete Myers discusses the "Health Scientists' Global Plastic Treaty"

Plastics treaty draft underway, but will the most impacted countries be included?

Opinion: UN plastics treaty should prioritize health and climate change

Op-Ed: How the United Nations could avoid silencing voices during Plastic Treaty negotiations

Scientists: US needs to support a strong global agreement to curb plastic pollution

Plastic and our health


What is plastic pollution?

Plastic chemicals are more numerable and less regulated than previously thought

Recycling plastics “extremely problematic” due to toxic chemical additives

Every stage of plastic production and use is harming human health

Massive new database on how plastic chemicals harm our health

Chemical recycling and bioplastics


What is chemical recycling?

Bioplastics: sustainable solution or distraction from the plastic waste crisis?

Chemical recycling grows — along with concerns about its environmental impacts

This will be a big year in shaping the future of chemical recycling

Chemical recycling “a dangerous deception” for solving plastic pollution: Report

Paused Ohio chemical recycling plant puts spotlight on Appalachia as “prime target” for the controversial practice

Residents fear Pennsylvania, West Virginia chemical recycling proposals will deepen fossil fuel ties and pollution problems

Q&A: Director of sustainability at Eastman Chemical Company talks chemical recycling

Latest chemical recycling plant closing spurs concern over the industry’s viability

Read the full story here.
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E-commerce hubs worsen air pollution: Study

Air pollution is worsening near massive e-commerce warehouses as a result of constant traffic around these hubs, a new study found. The new study was led by researchers at The George Washington University and published in the Nature Communications journal on Wednesday. The researchers used satellite observations to measure traffic-related pollutant nitrogen dioxide across nearly 150,000...

Air pollution is worsening near massive e-commerce warehouses as a result of constant traffic around these hubs, a new study found. The new study was led by researchers at The George Washington University and published in the Nature Communications journal on Wednesday. The researchers used satellite observations to measure traffic-related pollutant nitrogen dioxide across nearly 150,000 warehouses in the U.S.  Overall, the researchers discovered that nitrogen dioxide increased 20 percent in the areas near the warehouses. The study noted that these warehouses are “disproportionately located in marginalized and minoritized communities.” The researchers used a satellite instrument from the European Space Agency to look at the thousands of warehouses across the U.S. They noted that trucks and other vehicles release nitrogen dioxide, which can lead to asthma and other health problems, as they drive in and out of these e-commerce hubs. The research, funded by NASA, also found that warehouses with more vehicle activity had higher increases of nitrogen dioxide that were above the 20 percent average. Those warehouses that have more parking spaces and loading docks were correlated with higher nitrogen dioxide levels. Gaige Kerr, lead author of the study and an assistant research professor of environmental and occupational health, said in a press release that people living near these warehouses are inhaling more pollution from nitrogen dioxide. “Increased truck traffic to and from these recently built large warehouses means people living downwind are inhaling an increased amount of harmful nitrogen dioxide pollution,” Kerr said. “Communities of color are disproportionately affected because they often live in close proximity to warehouses, especially dense clusters of warehouses.”

Looking From Space, Researchers Find Pollution Spiking Near E-Commerce Hubs

Research showed truck-related releases of nitrogen dioxide, which can cause asthma, concentrated around some 150,000 warehouses nationwide.

They are mammoth warehouses large enough to fit football fields inside them, handling many of the more than 20 billion packages Americans send and receive each year.But for people who live around them, the round-the-clock semitrailer traffic at these giant hubs significantly worsens air pollution, according to a new NASA-funded study that tracked pollutants from space.The research, led by scientists at George Washington University, is the first of its kind; it used satellite technology to measure a harmful traffic-related pollutant called nitrogen dioxide, zooming in on nearly 150,000 large warehouses across the United States. They found that nitrogen dioxide, which can lead to asthma and other health problems, jumped 20 percent on average near the warehouses. At the busiest facilities the increase was higher.“The average warehouse built since about 2010 looks a lot different than the warehouses that were built prior to that, with lot more loading docks, a lot more parking spaces,” said Gaige Kerr, the lead author of the study and an assistant research professor of environmental and occupational health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health of George Washington University.“They’re also increasingly being built in dense clusters next to other warehouses, and attract a lot more traffic, specially heavy-duty vehicles. And that’s very bad when it comes to pollution.”The research underscores how logistics hubs have fast become a significant contributor to pollution as American heavy industry, a traditional source of pollution, has receded over the past decades and as the power sector has cleaned up its power plants.Subscribe to The Times to read as many articles as you like.

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