Bangladesh proposes single-use plastic ban, production curb

Bangladesh has proposed a global ban on single-use plastic and a reduction in virgin plastic production during the second round of negotiation before the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on global plastic treaty, which took place between May 29 and June 2 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

The delegation headed by Md Mazedul Islam, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, delivered the statement during the plenary session on Wednesday and contact group meeting on Thursday at UNESCO headquarters.

Bangladesh also stressed recycling, formation of a multi-lateral fund to address plastic pollution, and both national and global knowledge and information hubs.

The country also expressed concerns over hazardous chemicals used in plastic products while Palestine emphasised the need to regulate plastics flowing upstream.

Md Maruf Mohaimen, research officer of the Department of Environment and a member of the Bangladeshi delegation, told The Business Post, "We do not produce virgin plastic. We only import the raw materials. That is why we submitted our statement proposing the production reduction of virgin plastic at the source."

"We proposed more research on the trans-boundary microplastic movement and strongly stressed a dedicated multi-lateral fund to work on the elimination of plastic pollution,” he said.

Environment and Social Development Organization (ESDO), a Bangladeshi NGO that joined the negotiation as well, proposed to prohibit the production, marketing and promotion of toxic plastics from the plastic life cycle, to phase out all problematic plastic items and to ban the production and use of single-use plastic products.

It also proposed the promotion of environment-friendly alternatives to plastic products and the regulation of toxic plastic recycling throughout the lifecycle of plastics.

ESDO Secretary General Shahriar Hossain said, “The majority of the parties are in favour of a legally binding provision in the treaty and a ban on some kinds of plastic that are most dangerous, including single-use plastic, microplastic and hazardous chemicals."

"But the countries that produce or refine oil are trying their best to delay the process as plastic is a by-product of that process,” he added.

Talking to The Business Post, Martin Wagner, associate professor of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said, "There are around 13,000 chemicals used in plastic. Many of them are toxic. Some products contain very few chemicals that are non-toxic. But most of them have toxic chemicals in them.”

"We should redesign the products by taking out the toxic chemicals and replace them with the ones that are not toxic. It is possible but it will be more costly. More research needs to be done,” he said.

However, Mohammed Khashashneh, vice-chair of INC and general secretary of Jordan’s Ministry of Environment, told The Business Post, "Small island states, developing countries and some developed countries have shown integrity. Plastic pollution does not differentiate between developing and developed countries. We are all living on this planet. That is why we need to have strong measures to stop plastic pollution by 2040.”

"We are not attacking plastic production or sale. We just want to stop plastic pollution. Of course, it can impact production a little bit but we have scientists across the globe to find the solution. We are hopeful to prepare a zero draft here for the next INC session,” he said.

Majority for legally binding provision

Samoa, for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), African group, Asia Pacific group, Pacific SIDS group, High Ambition Coalition, Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia, and GRULAC group have called for some actions.

The common calls for all the group include addressing the full lifecycle of plastics in an International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI) that becomes more comprehensive over time; incorporating international and domestic obligations; banning harmful, problematic, and unnecessary polymers, chemicals, additives, and products, contained in annexes, periodically updated by the Conference of Parties.

They also called for addressing microplastics, establishing a dedicated multi-lateral fund, country-driven capacity building, and transfer and dissemination of environmentally sound technologies and best practices.

The groups aligned on the need for targeting the root causes of plastic pollution and periodically updating national action plans (NAPs) as a core obligation; reporting and transparency in production and labelling across the value chain; conducting thorough social and environmental impact assessments.

Extended Producer Responsibility and restrictions, socioeconomic inclusion measures and a just transition was also proposed during the negotiation.