Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, is calling for a complete rethink on tackling plastic pollution.

Out of approximately 430,000,000 tons per year, only 10% is recycled, with 74% ending up in landfills. From there, it either enters the environment or goes directly into it.

Speaking at a news conference organized on the sidelines of the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, Ms. Andersen highlighted the hazardous impact of plastic pollution on the environment.

She noted that governments worldwide must take action, emphasizing that these steps must include "a complete rethink on how we use plastics."

Ms Andersen added; “We need fewer virgin materials. We need to reduce the unnecessary and eliminate the unnecessary. Those mindless plastics that we just use for five minutes but 500 years in the landfill kind of plastics. We need to rethink completely and we need to not have harmful chemicals in that which remains. And obviously, we need to think about getting plastic out of nature."

This year's Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee meeting marks the midpoint of the journey towards a global treaty. It follows two earlier rounds of negotiations: INC-1 in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in November 2022, and INC-2 in Paris in June. Two more INC sessions are planned for 2024.

“We now have had the opportunity to have the first round of discussion on all elements of the future instrument,” Chair of the INC, Gustavo Adolfo Meza-Cuadra Velasquez, said.

“It is my hope that by the end of the session, the Committee will agree on a mandate for a revised draft and possible intersessional work to prepare for that fourth and fifth sessions,” he added. “I am confident that we can make substantive progress here at our third session and capitalise on the Nairobi spirit, consensus and ambition.”

The start of INC-3 was preceded by two days of preparatory meetings on 11 and 12 November, also in Nairobi, during which delegates engaged in initial, informal exchanges of views.

Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Executive Secretary of the INC, expressed gratitude to the Government of Kenya, delegates, and other stakeholders for their support for the negotiations.

She stressed, "We must work collectively, ensuring all views are heard so that we can build consensus and move forward swiftly to fulfill our mandate."

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee engagements align with the United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 5/14, which requested the Executive Director of UNEP to convene an intergovernmental negotiating committee. Its work began during the second half of 2022, with the ambition of completing its work by the end of 2024.

The INC is tasked with developing an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment. This instrument could include both binding and voluntary approaches, based on a comprehensive approach that addresses the full life cycle of plastic.