5th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) on Plastic Pollution in Busan

The fifth and final scheduled meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop a plastics treaty will be held from November 25 to December 1, 2024, in Busan, Republic of Korea.  

Who: The IAWP delegation included 12 delegates, 6 staff members, and interpreters from 11 countries, including Chile, Brazil, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Colombia, South Africa, USA, Italy, and Ecuador. 

When:  November 25 – December 1, 2024 

Background: The member states are negotiating a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution. The decision to establish an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) was made on March 2, 2022, during the fifth UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) held in Nairobi, Kenya. The committee’s mandate is to advance the development of a legally binding international agreement on plastics.

The International Alliance of Waste Pickers actively participates in the negotiation process for the Plastics Treaty. We advocate for recognition and direct participation in international, national and local laws and regulations related to plastic waste management and call for living income and a just transition into new materials management systems. 

Our demands for INC-5:

• The International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) welcomes the structure of the Chair’s Non-Paper as the basis of discussions at INC-5 but emphasizes the need for stronger, legally binding obligations to direct clear and enforceable nationally required actions.  Above all, IAWP supports adopting a mandatory, justice-centred approach focusing on the rights of impacted workers and communities, with reference to the ILO’s Guidelines for a Just Transition, as well as caps on plastics production and bans on targeted products and chemicals of concern.
• Retain Article 10 on Just Transition and strengthen it to include mandatory provisions for reporting, stakeholder engagement and guidance adoption.  

• Retain the mention of ‘waste pickers’ in the treaty text. In our experience, measures to reduce plastic pollution will overlook waste pickers unless they are explicitly mentioned in policy.
• Include definitions for waste pickers and just transition in the text.
• Include mention of just transition in the preamble.

IAWP’s response to the Chair’s third non-paper

Recommendations for Finance Mechanisms for Waste Pickers within the Global Plastics Treaty