UN Plastic Treaty

Active participation of the International Alliance of Waste Pickers in the process

The United Nations is in the process of negotiating a global treaty to tackle plastic pollution. This treaty aims to address all stages of the plastic life cycle, including design, production, and disposal. 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’ participates as an active voice in the UNEA Plastics Treaty process. We ask for the recognition and direct participation in national laws and regulations related to plastic waste management. We also call for fair compensation, a just transition to new systems, reduced use of toxic substances in plastics, and the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility norms. These measures aim to acknowledge waste pickers’ historical contributions, protect their rights, and promote effective and sustainable plastic waste management practices.

In an historical moment for the waste pickers movement, the resolution adopted by UNEA on March 2nd, 2022, recognized the “significant contribution made by workers in informal and cooperative settings to the collecting, sorting and recycling of plastics in many countries”. For the first time informal recyclers were mentioned in an United Nations Environmental Resolution.

Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee

Following the decision made during UNEA-5.2, an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) was established with the mandate of developing a global legally binding agreement on plastics by the end of 2024. The work towards the treaty began with an Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) meeting in Dakar, Senegal in June 2022. During this meeting, a timeline for subsequent meetings, rules of procedure, and the initial scope of work for the INC’s first meeting were established.

The first meeting of the negotiating committee (INC-1) took place in Punta del Este, Uruguay in November-December 2022. The second meeting (INC-2) was in Paris, France in May-June 2023. The upcoming meeting (INC-3) is taking place in Nairobi (Nov. 2023). Two more meetings (Canada INC-4, and INC-5) are planned until the end of 2024.

The International Alliance of Waste pickers (IAWP) has participated and plans to participate in these INC meetings to bring the voice of waste pickers to the international discussion.

Key moments

INC-5. Busan, South Korea, November 25- December 1, 2024

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 and 6 staff 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 of the United Nations 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.

Visit IAWP INC-5

INC-4. Ottawa, Canada, April 23-29, 2024

For a Just Transition for waste pickers under the Plastic Treaty

A delegation from the International Alliance of Waste Pickers (IAWP) will be attending the fourth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-4) to develop an international, legally binding instrument on plastic pollution.