GO!PHA will contribute the INC-5.2 pre-event hosted by UNCTAD on August 4th.
Conventional plastics, bio-based and biodegradable plastic alternatives, and non-plastic substitutes each have crucial roles to play - and complex trade-offs to navigate - in today’s materials landscape. While the INC process primarily targets controls on conventional plastics, it also reverberates through markets for alternative and substitute materials, influencing their global trade dynamics and incentives for end-of-life recovery and recycling.
Environmental assessments and beach cleanups consistently highlight lightweight films, packaging, straws, and similar single-use items as a disproportionately large source of plastic leakage into nature - even though these products represent only a small fraction of total polymer production. This imbalance raises an important question:
Can regulation favoring sturdier, reusable applications bridge the gap between those calling for strict limits on primary plastic production and those championing material/product innovation?
How do we ensure that “biodegradable” or compostable alternatives, especially in regions without industrial composting facilities, are properly labeled, marketed, and compatible with existing recycling systems, so they don’t inadvertently undermine waste-management infrastructure?
As members of the WTO Dialogue on Plastics engage with the World Customs Organization in updating the Harmonized System for 2027, improved goods classification can enable more targeted policies. These may prioritize reusables, durable materials, and plastic products with better circularity and lifecycle performance.
INC-5.2 refers to the second part of the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2), focused on developing a global legally binding instrument on plastic pollution. It is scheduled to take place in Geneva from August 5 to 14, 2025.
The meeting is a continuation of efforts to reach a global treaty to address plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, following the initial INC-5 session in South Korea in late 2024.