Plastic consumer countries vs. producer countries...Tension over polymer reduction

With the final round of negotiations on an international agreement to end environmental pollution from plastic just a week away, there are predictions that a settlement will not be easy.

An official from the Ministry of Environment told reporters today (19th) that four of the five negotiations scheduled were conducted, but the confrontation between consumer and producer countries over regulations on the production of plastic raw materials is sharp.

At the 5th UN Environmental Assembly held in March 2022, the international community has agreed and negotiated a legally binding international document on plastic pollution, including the marine environment, by 2024.

The last negotiation, the 5th Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee, will be held in Busan from the 25th, where government delegations from 175 countries will participate.

The biggest issue in the negotiations is whether to regulate the production of primary plastic polymers, new plastic extracted from fossil fuels, and the waste plastic recycling rate is so low that most of the plastics we use now are primary plastic polymers.