Kenya takes the lead as world races to end plastic pollution
Kenya is taking the lead on the negotiations and is one of the few countries that have banned the use of plastic bags and single-use plastics like water bottles in protected areas.
In Busan, South Korea
A fifth and final round of negotiations for a global treaty to end plastic pollution is taking place in Busan, South Korea. Delegates from 175 countries have just one week to meet a two-year deadline set by the United Nations in Nairobi in 2022.
The fifth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) session, is happening days after the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) ended in Baku, Azerbaijan, with a bad deal.
During the opening plenary on Monday afternoon, delegates expressed optimism that by December 1, countries will have agreed on key issues that will be included in the global plastic treaty.
Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, executive secretary for the INC on plastic pollution, in her opening remarks, said countries attending the negotiations have to ensure that the negotiations have smooth sailing.
"The success of these negotiations will directly shape the world we live in...because, once the ink is dry, words must be followed by action and we should all have our eyes on this instrument's implementation," she said.
UNEP executive director Inger Andersen reminded delegates that plastic pollution harms the natural systems and species we depend on.
She said that countries find it hard to adapt to climate change when pollution happens, because of a destructed ecosystem resilience that leads to drainage blockages and harms human health.
"Public and political pressure for action has risen to a crescendo. Waste pickers and civil society groups are fully engaged. Businesses are calling for global rules to guide this future reality. Indigenous people are speaking out…The finance sector is beginning to make moves," she said in her opening speech.
Kenya is taking the lead on the negotiations and is one of the few countries that have banned the use of plastic bags and single-use plastics like water bottles in protected areas. Kenya, under its negotiating block in Africa, has its own priorities.
National Environment Management Authority director of enforcement Ayub Macharia, said in a press briefing last week that the goal is not to ban the use of plastic but to end plastic pollution.
"This treaty is about plastics pollution; it's not about plastics. Plastic will continue to be in use, as long as the ones causing pollution are removed. It is through continuous research and innovation that the bad plastic will be determined," he said.
"We want to convince other countries that from the date of the convention, once it comes into force, we set to effect a phase-out of problematic plastic and chemicals of concern," he added.
He also said that some of the single-use plastics we have in the country should not be in circulation and that new enforcement will help to curb their spread.
"Is it really plastic? Maybe it looks like it, but to us, we call it poison. If it was useful, it could not have been there. Legacy plastics are key to us, us Africans because they were made without the required standards. They need to be removed," he said.
Mr Macharia also said that should the treaty be adopted, Kenya is eyeing the opportunity to host the secretariat at the United Nations Environment Program's offices. He explained that Kenya is also pushing for the creation of a global inventory of how much plastic is there and who is responsible for its production.
In the next seven days, the world will make history. If they fail to agree, they will allow for plastic pollution which has been proven to have detrimental effects on our ecosystem.
"They should be properly disposed of and someone to be held responsible for paying for that," he said.
This is why back at home, starting November 4, Kenya enforced the Extended Producer Responsibility by law under the Sustainable Waste Management Act and manufacturers have only a month to comply with the new rules.
In the Busan negotiations, Macharia explained that some products and polymers made of plastic should not be there in the first place because they are toxic. He called them plastics of concern.
"Countries should not allow the production of toxic plastic," he said.
Kenya is joining other countries in recommending that any chemicals identified in conventions such as the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, which regulates chemicals in plastics, should be included by delegates if the treaty is adopted.
Most of the banned plastic chemicals are found in paint, pesticides, carpets, non-stick cookware, firefighting foam and coatings.
Macharia said that delegates should propose adding more chemicals to the list.
Studies show that chemicals enlisted in the Stockholm convention cause adverse health effects, like birth defects, they could damage the immune and respiratory systems, have sex-linked disorders and shorten lactation periods for nursing mothers.
