Quezon City, Philippines Organizations around the world have joined forces to call for a global ban on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) ahead of the World Environment Day. Also known as the “forever chemicals,” PFAS do not break down in the environment and build up in the bodies of humans and wildlife over time, resulting in adverse health effects.
In March 2022, 175 countries came together in an agreement to begin negotiations on a global treaty to address the plastic crisis. From May 30 to June 2, 2022, delegates from around the world met in Dakar, Senegal to set the terms for the next two years of work around a global Plastics Treaty.
IPEN members from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Europe attended the meetings in Dakar, and other IPEN groups from around the world continue to closely monitor the Plastics Treaty process. In Dakar, IPEN co-chair Dr. Tadesse Amera outlined our concerns about the health threats from chemicals in plastics and called for an open, participatory treaty process in his opening remarks to the plenary session.
In Dakar IPEN worked to educate delegates on the importance of developing within the INC an approach that understands plastics as carbon and chemicals, addresses the health and environmental threats from toxic chemicals in plastics, and promotes safer, non-toxic materials that are compatible with a circular economy.
From June 6-17, IPEN members will participate in the Meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions taking place in Geneva, Switzerland. Check this page for updates throughout the meetings.
IPEN and its members have been contributing to the development of the Stockholm Treaty since its inception in 2001. The Treaty aims to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants, or POPs, such as pesticides, industrial chemicals, and their toxic by-products. We have also contributed to the Basel Convention and its work to protect human health and the environment from toxic waste, and to the Rotterdam Convention’s work on the international trade in hazardous chemicals.
In Geneva, IPEN members from around the world will educate delegates about the health effects from toxic chemicals, providing data from IPEN’s scientific studies and observations from their local situations.
In addition, IPEN will co-host the following side events during the meetings:
POPs waste in a circular economy
Monday, 6 June 2022 at 6:15-7:45 p.m.
organized by IPEN, Arnika Association, and CREPD Photos
Health, Chemicals, Plastics & a Non-Toxic Circular Economy - Link
Thursday, 9 June 2022 at 1:15- 2:45 p.m.
organized by IPEN with Switzerland and Uruguay as co-organizers - New Plastics Video - Excerpt 1 | Excerpt 2
Video recording of session
Plastics & Refuse-Derived Fuel: Fuel Product or Plastic Waste Export? - Link
Thursday, 9 June 2022 at 6:15-7:45 p.m.
organized by IPEN - Excerpt
Video recording of sesssion
‘Chemical recycling’ of plastics – What is it and what impacts for the environment? - Link
Thursday, 10 June 2022 at 1:15-2:45 p.m. | Room 14
organized by IPEN & GAIA - Excerpt
Video recording of sesssion
Youth Participation in National Implementation Plan and Strategies (NIPs) to the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions
Wednesday, 15 June 2022 at 1:15-2:45 p.m | Room B
organized by AKO Foundation, IPEN, Young volunteers for the Environment, CIEL
Without consideration of the public and experts from the most affected and vulnerable regions, a global Plastics Treaty cannot meaningfully resolve the crisis.
This weekend, IPEN is hosting an event at the Plastics Treaty meetings in Dakar, Senegal on “Health, Chemicals, Plastics and a Non-Toxic Circular Economy.” The technical briefing is co-sponsored by the governments of Senegal, Switzerland and Uruguay with the support of the Geneva Environment Network and the Geneva Beat Plastic Pollution Dialogues.
Plastics are more than bottles, straws, and bags — more than individual products. The word “plastic” refers to many different materials with different properties that are given to them by their chemical ingredients.
A circular economy aims at changing the economic take-make-waste approach to one that minimizes extraction of natural resources and waste creation. It is seen as key to sustainability, including in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDG 12). The European Union Circular Economy Action Plan also aims to design for sustainability, encouraging products that last longer, are easier to use, recycle and repair, that incorporate more recycled materials, that limit single-use, and that maximize an item’s lifespan.
POPs waste is defined, according Article 6 of the Stockholm Convention, by setting Low POPs Content Levels (LPCLs). This establishes an important kind of “limit value” because POPs waste should be treated such that POPs are either destroyed or irreversibly transformed. They cannot be landfilled, reused, or recycled, because POPs content in that waste would also be recycled and thus would not stop this chemical pollution from entering the environment.
