160 Thai civil society organisations have jointly called for a support to a strong plastics treaty from the Thai government ahead of the final negotiation round set by the end of this month
The CSOs’ representatives submitted the group’s joint statement to the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment on Wednesday, calling on the Thai government to support a strong global plastics treaty, of which the revised draft text will be tabled for a final round of negotiations scheduled in South Korea by the end of this month.
The draft text contains key issues to be discussed ranging from provisions concerning reduction of plastic production, a ban on toxic chemicals in plastics, a ban on problematic products, EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility), and improvement of waste management, among others.
Drafted by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Ecological Alert and Recovery – Thailand (EARTH), Greenpeace – Thailand, and Trash Hero Thailand, the statement has since gained 160 signatories from Thai CSOs of various sectors and regions.
“We cannot deny that plastic production is currently unsustainable,” Salisa Traipipitsiriwat, senior campaigner at EJF said. “Primary plastic production reduction may be challenging, but not addressing or saying it is impossible is not the solution. Rather, we need to bring together experts to find a solution on this matter. This will make Thailand a leader that brings about changes on the INC-5 stage, through cooperations with other countries to set a target to reduce plastic production to a sustainable level under a clear timeframe.”
Every year more than 460 million tons of plastic are produced worldwide. Between 19 and 23 million tons of which ends up as waste in waterways every year, almost two truckloads per minute, according to the Germany based Helmholtz Research Centre. The Centre also noted that China is on top of the rank, being number one for marine debris contributor with 8.2 million tons discharged into the seas, followed by Indonesia (3.22 million tons), the Philippines (1.88 million tons), Vietnam (1.83 million tons), Sri Lanka (1.59 million tons), and Thailand (1.03 million tons), the world’s 6th.
As noted in the national agenda’s report in 2020, the country produced around 27 to 28 million tons of waste a year, and only half of this amount was properly disposed of. Among this amount was plastic waste, which was accounted for around 2 million tons or around 12 % of the whole waste.
Of 2 million tons, the country had the capacity to recycle only 25% of it or 500,000 tons. The rest went to landfills, the environment, and the seas_ the destinations which prompted Thailand to have been ranked among the world’s top ten countries. It is estimated by some ani-pollution experts and institutes including Thailand Environment Institute that the country discharges plastic waste into the seas around one million tons a year.
Global Plastics Treaty
Realising a critical situation, the international community had discussed the possibility of introducing a new global treaty to address it, And in March 2022, during the 5th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5) held in Nairobi, Kenya, 175 member states adopted the Resolution 5/14 to develop an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, with an aim to complete it by 2024.
This historic decision marked a pivotal step towards putting an end to plastic pollution, which is threatening both global biodiversity and human health.
The legal instrument—widely referred to as the Global Plastic Treaty (henceforth “Treaty”)—is designed to establish a comprehensive approach to tackling plastic pollution throughout its lifecycle, from regulating plastic production volume, mandating regulations over single-use plastics and harmful chemicals to extending producers’ responsibilities (EPR), and emphasising the need for a just transition and environmental and social restoration. The primary objective is to curb the transboundary issue of plastic pollution that plagues our planet.
To achieve this ambition, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) will undertake five rounds of negotiations before the Treaty becomes finalised. This is scheduled by the end of this month.
So far, negotiators have replaced the first zero draft with the so-called revised zero draft, which they have agreed upon for negotiations. It is expected that the revised Zero Draft will be transformed into the First Draft during this round of negotiations and if not, the Treaty may not be completed in 2024 as required.
Supawan Srirattana, country coordinator of Trash Hero Thailand’s a volunteer group working on anti-plastic campaigns at local levels said a true and sustainable solution must come from producer’s responsibility and strong laws. This, she said, will ensure that the solutions to plastic pollution are driven with consistency across the world.
Thitikorn Boontongmai, Toxic Waste and Industrial Pollution Program Manager at EARTH said the production of plastics from past to present have used over 13,000 chemicals, 3,000 of which are toxic to humans and could cause diseases such as cancer. These chemicals must be strictly controlled or banned and safe alternatives must be found. These measures, he added, must be implemented carefully and comprehensively on a global scale.
“A solution to the problem to toxic and hazardous chemicals in plastics lies in a global legally-binding instrument. It is time for a global plastics treaty” he remarked.
“Greenpeace calls on Thai delegates to support reduction of plastic production, implement policies to support a re-use ecosystem, and provide less support to single-use plastics from fossil fuel industries. We call on the government to address the climate crisis to protect all lives on Earth, driving changes towards a low-carbon and toxic-free future with a circular economy based on reuse,” Pichmol Rugrod, Greenpeace Thailand’s Plastics-Free Future Project Leader added.
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