Welcome to the Plastics Weekly, NEO’s regular news monitoring of the plastics industry.
Every Monday, we publish a roundup of the top developments in plastics and sustainability – from regulatory changes to company news.
This week’s highlights:
- The UN has agreed a roadmap for a global plastic treaty that would address plastic production and design, according to a Reuters exclusive. Member-states are working on the first global agreement to tackle plastic pollution, which they hope to agree in full within the next two years. The draft resolution says the treaty should address “the full lifecycle of plastic”, meaning production and design in addition to waste. (Reuters)
- Major chemical and plastics manufacturers have lobbied to weaken a wide-ranging proposal for the landmark UN global plastics treaty. The American Chemistry Council industry group, which has 90 members including ExxonMobil Chemical Company, Shell Chemical and Dow among its 190 members, has pressed for a version of the treaty that focuses solely on plastic waste rather than the full production cycle. (Financial Times)
- Approximately three-quarters of people across 28 countries support a ban on single-use plastics, according to a survey by Ipsos. The strongest support came from respondents in Latin American and the BRIC countries, while North America had the lowest levels of agreement, though still above 50%. On average, 88% of respondents believe it is essential, very important or fairly important to have an international treaty to fight plastic pollution. (Ipsos)
