November 23, 2024; Busan,  South Korea — Hundreds marched in Busan today  urging government leaders to deliver a strong and robust plastics treaty that effectively addresses the root causes of the plastic pollution crisis by reducing  global production of primary plastic polymers. Delegates  from over 170 countries are gathering for the fifth and final meeting of the International Negotiating Committee (INC-5) from November 25th to December 1st, aimed at establishing an  international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution.  

The Busan Plastic March led by the global Break Free from Plastic (BFFP) movement and local Korean allies from the Uproot Plastics Coalition included indigenous groups, youth, waste pickers, and community leaders. They emphasized the links between plastic pollution, human rights and environmental justice. The demonstrators, which also saw the participation of the world’s largest environmental groups and networks, insisted that the treaty must include production reduction targets to be effective at ending plastic pollution as mandated by the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) Resolution 5/14.

“Mandatory targets to reduce plastic production are essential to combat the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and toxic pollution,” said Semee Rhee of Break Free from Plastic. “Failure to check the untrammeled production of primary plastic polymers would mean allowing the plastic pollution crisis to persist  and perpetuate  social and environmental injustices for generations to come.”

Most carbon emissions from plastics come from the production processes and the extraction of fossil fuels used to make 99% of plastics. The current projected growth of plastic production also threatens humanity’s ability to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius as set by the Paris Agreement. Aside from being a threat to meeting climate targets, advocates point out that a weak plastics treaty could also fail to protect human health as plastics expose people to over 16,000 chemicals, and 4,200 of these are classified as hazardous to people and the environment. 

“Investing in reuse systems is crucial. We need real and lasting solutions, not just temporary waste management fixes,” said Rahyang Nusantara of Plasticdiet Indonesia.  “We need a treaty to establish a global standard for reuse systems not only to effectively tackle pollution across the full life cycle of plastics but to also ensure human health. This is what the world needs, not just another waste management agreement.” he added. 

Arpita Bhagat of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives also emphasized the need for an effective implementation of the treaty saying, “To be fair, the agreement must ensure that the financial mechanism prioritizes reduction, redesign, and reuse through dedicated, sufficient, sustainable fund to support low-income countries and SIDS. The prospective agreement must center principles of human rights and justice, polluter pays, do no harm, and provide just transition for Waste Pickers and other informal workers engaged in the plastics life cycle as well as Indigenous Peoples as key partners to the treaty.”

Since the beginning of the treaty negotiation process in 2022, groups have called out conflicts of interest in the negotiation rooms and the need for greater transparency and meaningful participation for civil society. With only one round of negotiations left as UN member states are expected to close the negotiations by December 1st, civil society groups are hoping that the meetings will end with a treaty text that will prove to be effective in ending plastic pollution instead of a watered-down agreement that fails to deliver on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to systematically address the full life cycle of plastics.

Sammy Yu of Green Korea United said, “As the host country of INC-5 and the world’s fourth-largest producer of plastic raw materials, the South Korean government bears a significant responsibility in addressing plastic pollution. Despite its passive stance during INC-4, the Korean government must take a decisive position on ‘reducing production’ at the fifth round of negotiations and advocate for it strongly. Moreover, negotiations are not confined to the conference room. To effectively push for a production reduction stance in these discussions, the government must first restore its domestic resource circulation policies, which have regressed over the past two years, and align them with its negotiation position.” 

This was supported by Sunryul Kim of Greenpeace Seoul office who said, “The people are speaking with one voice, demanding that the negotiators ensure that the Plastics Treaty will ensure cuts in production and end single-use plastic. We are at the most critical part of creating this agreement and what will come out of this negotiation will affect our future for generations to come. As the host country and a member of High Ambition Coalition(HAC),  the South Korean government must listen to its citizens and lead the way for strong production reduction targets at the negotiating table.”

Youth activist Aeshnina Azzahra Aqilani of Indonesia said, “This plastic crisis is rooted in the overproduction of single-use plastics, building for us and future generations a very toxic legacy. Waste created today will poison all children and the planet through toxic plastic emission and microplastic exposure along the plastic life cycle. Safeguard the health and survival of future generations by advocating for a legally binding global plastic treaty— a treaty that encompasses ambitious goals for a reduction in plastic production, with accountability placed on corporations for reuse and refill solutions in its place. The world is watching. The future is waiting. Make the right decision.”

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Note to the editors: 

• Photos will be available here. 
• More quotes are available in the quote sheet
• More references about the plastics treaty negotiations here
• Full press kit accessible here or at https://bit.ly/BFFPINC5presskit 

About Break Free From Plastic –  #BreakFreeFromPlastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 3,500  organizations representing millions of individual supporters around the world,  have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the values of environmental protection and social justice, and work together through a holistic approach to bring about systemic change. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain—from extraction to disposal—focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions.www.breakfreefromplastic.org

About Uproot Plastics Coalition – Uproot Plastics Coalition is comprised of 16 domestic and international civic groups in the Republic of Korea: Action for a Carcinogen-free Korea, Almang Market, Break Free From Plastic (BFFP), , Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Green Environment Youth Korea (GEYK), Green Korea United (GKU), Greenpeace Korea, Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (KFEM), Korea Zerowaste Movement Network, Korean Women’s Environmental Network (KWEN), National Council of the Green Consumers Network in Korea, Our Sea of East Asia Network (OSEAN), RELOOP, Resource Circulation Society & Economy Institute, Seoul Korea Federation for Environmental Movements (Seoul KFEM), and Wonjin Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health (WIOEH)

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Press Contacts:

• Eah Antonio: eah@breakfreefromplastic.org | +63 927 827 7960
• Jiwon Kim: jiwon.kim@greenpeace.org  | +82 10 8715 7105
• Sammy Yu : jazzygreen@greenkorea.org | +82 10 4487 8727