SA backs internationally binding pollution treaty

Almost two years after Presidents and Environment Ministers met in Nairobi and adopted a draft treaty to end plastic pollution, they will gather in Canada this week to develop the treaty. SA hopes the final treaty will help to end plastic pollution while making provisions for protecting human health and the environment from plastic leakage. The Daily Maverick reports that the country’s position was shared at a stakeholder engagement meeting this month that included Plastics SA, the International Alliance of Waste Pickers, the SA Local Government Association and the Congress of SA Trade Unions. The engagement preceded the fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee in Ottawa from 23 to 29 April. Forestry, Fisheries & Environment Minister Barbra Creecy said SA was in strong support of the treaty being concluded by the end of 2024 as promised by global leaders. ‘SA remains resolute in supporting global efforts to end plastic pollution. Plastic pollution affects the terrestrial and aquatic, including marine environments. SA boasts a coastline that covers over 3 000km, and it is in the interest of environmental sustainability that SA is actively engaged in the INC process,’ she said.

DM notes that SA is considered to have the highest plastic waste generation rate in Africa, producing 28kg of waste a year per person, compared to 16kg a year per person for the rest of the continent. In addition, the country contributes about 35% of the plastic pollution leaking into the marine environment in southern and east Africa, an International Union for Conservation of Nature study found. Creecy said the plastic industry had to grow sustainably to ensure that the environment and human health were not harmed. Plastics SA said the treaty should focus on ending plastic pollution, not production as this would limit plastic supply and increase the cost of production, which would hit consumers.