Opinion | Why the world shouldn’t give up on plastic recycling

Global plastic pollution has finally made it to the forefront of the international agenda, with a United Nations-backed plastic treaty under negotiation for the past two years but with an unsuccessful conclusion in Busan, South Korea, last week.

The collapse of the expected final round of negotiations is a cause for concern but UN treaties can require longer negotiation periods to build the needed consensus for approval by all member states.

With fast-growing middle classes in emerging economies and plastic’s unique place in our supply chains, it is evident that plastic pollution will remain one of the most complex environmental issues of our time to resolve.

Several millions of tons of plastic end up in our natural environments every year. Landfills or burning are not the containment solutions we want to be aiming for.

The media often frames negotiations as pitting plastic reduction – widely supported except by the main producers – against plastic recycling, which is supported by the main producers. Such framing unfairly treats recycling as an inferior practice whose supporters are linked to recalcitrant states and business interests. Plastic reduction and plastic recycling are not mutually exclusive.