UNEP chief: Africa is continent of natural resources to be used for planet-friendly alternatives to plastic

14 / 11 / 2023

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• Sustainable Development

Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Inger Andersen said Africa is a continent of natural resources that can be used for planet-friendly alternatives and substitutes to plastic.

“Africa can lead the way. African nations, like Rwanda and Kenya, have led in reducing single-use plastics. They have shown that it is possible. African businesses have innovated in spaces like mobile money,” Andersen said. She made the remarks during the opening plenary of the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-3) on Plastic Pollution which aims to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.

“Allow me to remind you of a key point. The resolution passed at UNEA 5.2 called for an instrument that is, and I quote, “based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic,” she said, adding “Not an instrument that deals with plastic pollution by recycling or waste management alone. The full life cycle. This means rethinking everything along the chain, from polymer to pollution, from product to packaging. We need to use fewer virgin materials, less plastic and no harmful chemicals. We need to ensure that we use, reuse, and recycle resources more efficiently. And dispose safely of what is left over.”

“This is how we protect human and ecosystem health, slow climate change, create new jobs and sustainable markets, and deliver a just transition,” she said.

So, the instrument must eliminate unnecessary, problematic, and avoidable plastic products – including short-lived and single-use plastics, she noted.

The instrument must ensure the redesign of products, including packaging, to use less plastic and be more easily reused, refilled, repaired, repurposed, and recycled – repeatedly.

The instrument must eliminate unnecessary single-use products and foresee a switch to non-plastic substitutes, alternative plastics and plastic products that do not create negative impacts. This includes dealing with microplastics and harmful chemicals. Over 900 chemicals have been identified in packaging. 148 of these have been identified as most hazardous. Workers and users are exposed to these chemicals before they even become waste. They’ve got to go, she highlighted.

The deal must also strengthen systems for reducing, reusing, refilling, repairing, and recycling. Improve environmentally sound waste management and disposal. Deal with the legacy of plastic pollution. And, of course, deliver a just transition and new, decent jobs for communities such as waste-pickers.

“The Chair’s zero draft, which he has presented to you, includes these elements and more. It is a true work of multilateralism. It is now up to you to ensure that we together reach a transformational instrument by backing these elements and putting in place key enablers for the “real deal”,” she said.

“This means setting ambitious targets with accelerated timelines. Because the agreement will only be as strong as the reduction goals and the list of banned substances and products within it,” she said.

This means prioritizing work on the enabling policy environment and legislation. Because legislation enables change.

This means clear incentives – including for the private sector to innovate on materials, scale up reuse and refill systems and participate in Extended Producer Responsibility systems, she said.

This means financing, assistance and international cooperation – so that nations with fewer resources, including those that produce plastics, can change track.

This means real funding for R&D on solutions.

This means following the principles of safe and environmentally sound approaches when redesigning – because replacements for plastics and chemicals can’t be harmful, she expounded.

This means bringing everyone on board: governments across sectors, businesses across value chains, public and private finance institutions, investors, civil society, waste pickers, indigenous peoples, scientific bodies and other Multilateral Environmental Agreements, she said.

This means investments in solid waste management infrastructure; that is engineered landfills with leachate collection to prevent groundwater pollution, compacting, and sorting and recycling, she said.

“And this means ensuring a transition that works for everyone: because the deal won’t stick without justice for nations, communities, and people, including waste-pickers,” she noted.

“One of the most important enablers is private sector leadership. If industry gets not just behind this deal, but ahead of it, by putting its resources and innovation to immediate work, we can turbo charge transformation,” she stressed.

“I ask the private sector to understand that this is not just about philanthropy, or corporate social responsibility. This is about your future – in the boardroom as much as in your homes.  This instrument is coming. The world is changing. And we all know that, as this drive to sustainability gathers pace, the early movers and innovators will be those that succeed. Companies that adopt non-plastic substitutes or alternatives or better use of plastic now will win the market share. Once they have it, everyone else will be running to catch up,” she concluded.