Webinar Recap: Zero Waste Recyclers Reflect on Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations
If all goes to plan, the world could adopt an urgently needed global treaty to reduce plastics in the environment in 2025.
Eco-Cycle, represented by the Alliance for Mission-Based Recycling (AMBR), is helping ensure the voices of mission-based, Zero Waste recycling operators are heard at the negotiations for the global plastics treaty. Eco-Cycle cofounded AMBR in 2019 with fellow mission-based recycling operators in the United States. Together, we advocate for equitable, Zero Waste solutions and policies to ensure the role of recycling is to keep resources in the ground and reduce harm to people and communities.
Late last year, AMBR attended INC-5, the fifth round of negotiations for the global plastics treaty. This week, Eco-Cycle and AMBR hosted a webinar to unpack what we heard at the convening.
View the webinar at: https://youtu.be/8GvUCaX5ydw


Here’s a quick recap of the discussion:
“AMBR Knows Where Your Water Bottle Goes”
As Zero Waste recyclers, our focus during the negotiations is on waste reduction in packaging. We use the Zero Waste hierarchy to evaluate proposed solutions, ideally not only solving today’s problems but also preventing tomorrow’s. We encourage redesign and rethinking packaging first and foremost with reduction in mind, and considering reuse options before designing a package for recycling.
Informed by the reality of what we see coming through our recycling facilities every day, we view plastics recycling as a bridge strategy to total elimination. We know recycling is a key part of a Zero Waste future, but it is absolutely not the solution to the global plastics crisis.
AMBR’s Ideal Treaty Includes a Significant Reduction in Plastic Production
AMBR believes a global plastics treaty must:
- Significantly reduce plastic production;
- Eliminate problematic and unnecessary plastics;
- Stop investments in false solutions like chemical recycling and instead make strategic investments to support proven solutions; and
- Prioritize reuse and redesign targets.
Treaty Negotiations Bring Together an Incredible Array of Interests, Perspectives, and Lived Experiences
- Only roughly 180 government delegates from variouscountries can speak and have a vote at the negotiations. Representatives from organizations like ours, frontline communities, nonprofit organizations, businesses, retailers, petrochemical industry, and manufacturers can observe the negotiations but cannot speak or vote. There were about 3,000 observers present. Because we can’t speak or vote, we host workshops and meet with delegates from around the world to share our knowledge and expertise.
- Indigenous nations are not able to vote and generally not able to speak directly to the convening. However, including Indigenous peoples’ knowledge and voices in the treaty and proposed solutions is imperative, as many of these communities have been acting as environmental stewards for centuries.
- The petrochemical/fossil fuel industry was a dominating presence at the negotiations, working to encourage false solutions like chemical recycling or scapegoating mechanical recycling as the solution to the plastics crisis. Their main goal is to push back against a treaty that includes concrete goals for a global reduction in plastics production, which many countries, frontline communities, and environmental groups are advocating for (including Eco-Cycle/AMBR).
- Many countries in attendance are dealing with material waste they didn’t create, and they often don’t have the capacity, resources, or technology to manage this material. Ideally a treaty would include resources to help these countries deal with existing waste.
- Waste pickers had representation. In some countries, these groups are organized and unionized. For example, a waste picker group of about 1 million people from India was present.
- INC-5 was scheduled to be the last negotiation session, but no final treaty text was agreed upon. Instead, delegates will meet again this year at INC-5.2 (not yet scheduled) to try to come to an agreement.
Producer Responsibility and Improved Recycling Infrastructure Really Work
Here’s an inspiring story: Our colleague Alex Danovitch of Recycle Ann Arbor is currently living in Taiwan, and he spoke to the impact of Zero Waste infrastructure on behaviors. Taiwan has one of the highest recycling rates in the world (~60% nationally, and nearly 90% for some materials) and has many of the policies and infrastructure models in place that AMBR and Eco-Cycle advocate for, like Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging, and financial incentives for Zero Waste behaviors. For example, curbside recycling and compost are free but people “pay as you throw” for trash.