The American Chemistry Council (ACC) voiced support for a global plastics treaty that would boost recycling efforts but does not place limits on production.
ACC issued a statement shortly after the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-1) completed its first round of negotiations on a global agreement to end plastics pollution last week.
ACC backed the plastics industry’s proposal, called “five actions for sustainable change,” which involves requirements for specific plastics amounts in packaging, the use of technology and innovation to rapidly scale reuse, the creation of a national recycling standard, the implementation of material lifecycle assessments to inform policy, and the implementation of a producer responsibility system that shifts end-of-life management to plastics producers.
“These five actions are a blueprint for the U.S. and other countries to adopt and tailor for their unique country-specific situations,” said Joshua Baca, vice president of plastics at ACC, in a news release. “We continue to encourage U.S. lawmakers to pass legislation aligned with these five actions. This would serve the dual purpose of creating a more circular economy for plastics domestically, while sending a powerful signal to the globe that the U.S. is leaning forward with an ambitious model to address the challenge.”
But ACC “strongly cautioned” against calls to implement production caps on plastics. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, referred to plastics as "fossil fuels in another form," and urged nations to crack down on pollution and production, according to Reuters news service.
ACC said production caps would hinder efforts to combat climate change due to the amount of plastics used in renewable energy technologies, such as wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles.