Parley AIR: Plastics in 2023
The biggest plastic stories of 2023 and how 2024 could bring a massive wave of change
Plastics had a big year. The notorious fossil fuel-based material was everywhere in 2023, from the box office to the human bloodstream. Keeping up with the latest research on the issue is about as much fun as it is to keep others informed of it. In our social media coverage of microplastics in the human body, someone commented, “this is a lot bigger deal than people realize.” Another asked, “When will we collectively get more serious about it?” Good question. That’s why we’re here: To go beyond awareness and collaborate on solutions.
One of the overlooked lessons in plastics’ breathtaking rise to ubiquity is how swiftly humanity can change everything with near-term thinking, poor design and a broken status quo. Imagine what we could build with planning, intention and reverence for nature!
We are at a critical point where we, collectively as the human race, can determine what the future will look like for all species on our planet. We have the power to change our world and therefore the responsibility to change course. Reinvention and reconnection is the way forward. It’s time to get serious about it.
As we wind down toward the New Year, we’re looking back on the biggest plastic stories from last year and what progress we can push for together in 2024. Never stop paying attention and putting pressure on corporations and governments to take real action. And never doubt that you, as an individual, can make a difference.
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Plastic debris collected during a Parley beach cleanup in Mexico
Moves on a Global Plastics Treaty
One of the biggest plastics stories of 2023 is the ongoing debate to finalize a global plan that could drastically reduce plastic pollution by 2040. If no action is taken, the amount of plastic produced is projected to increase by 22% between next year and 2050. Plastic pollution will increase by more than 60%.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) first started talks for the UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution in February 2022 with the aim of agreeing on terms by 2024. That means we have just over a year before our deadline is up.
In June, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry representatives and delegates from 175 countries met in Paris for a second round of discussions on what the world’s biggest players in plastic pollution must do to stop one of the most dangerous streams of toxic pollution on our planet.
Then, from November 13–16, delegates met in Nairobi, Kenya for their third round of talks – the second talks of 2023 – where they reviewed more than 500 proposals on how a treaty that would drastically reduce plastic pollution might look. Member states unanimously agreed that the world is in the midst of a global plastic pollution crisis, and that the best way to take action for the future is with a life cycle approach. But they could not yet agree on where, exactly, that life cycle should start.
At the heart of the matter is whether a treaty should restrict corporations from producing plastic polymers, the building blocks for all plastic products, from bottles to furniture.
Some plastic treaty delegates consider these nodules the origin of plastic pollution, and therefore where the life cycle approach to curbing plastic pollution should start. But others believe that blocking new plastic production should not be the focus – the economy of plastics being the only reason – and rather dealing with plastic pollution once plastic is created should be where the life cycle starts.
Currently, only about 9% of all plastic that’s created is recycled. Recycling existing plastic is important, but it’s an imperfect plan. First, not all plastic can be recycled in the first place. Thermoset plastics – hard plastics that are melted and molded into things like coolers and car parts – cannot be remelted and turned into something else once they’ve set. The chemistry used to make this type of plastic doesn’t allow it.
Recycling isn’t free from environmental cost. It also has deeply rooted social justice issues that disproportionately impact BIPOC communities, women and people living in the Global South.
Social justice is a plastic pollution issue that has made it into the Zero Draft, what the UN is calling the working rough draft of the treaty. It states that “each party shall promote and facilitate a fair, equitable and inclusive transition for affected populations, with special consideration for women and vulnerable groups, including children and youth.” This specifically relates to recycling, which is often done by people living in the Global South. More on that here.
So far, the rough draft does include plans – though not detailed ones – to reduce plastic at the design phase of products. There’s a huge focus here on packaging, the source of about 40% of the world’s plastic waste. Delegates are also considering whether to control plastic additives, which make plastics different from one another and extremely difficult to recycle. The delegates are also grappling over total bans on certain plastics – i.e. disposable items – and whether those should be implemented globally.
There’s still a ton of work to do before a treaty is finalized. Two rounds of talks are scheduled for 2024 and delegates are on a deadline to finalize a first draft of a global, legally binding treaty aimed at drastically reducing plastic pollution over the next two decades. Keep watching.
Fossil Fuel Reps Heavily Attended COP28
Just two weeks after UN member states met about the Global Plastics Treaty, the UN hosted another environment-focused meeting: the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC. You probably know it as COP28.
COP meetings have notoriously yielded very few moves towards actually tackling some of the biggest factors hurling Earth into a point of no return for climate change. In 2021, the COP26 summit in Glasgow produced the first actual progress toward a fossil fuel exit deal with an agreement to reduce coal use, but the plan did not mention oil and gas. Burned fossil fuels are also the number one driver of climate change.
This year, more than 80 countries represented at the summit are pushing for a broader agreement that includes a plan to phase out all CO2-emitting fossil fuels, not just coal. But a record number of fossil fuel lobbyists, almost 2,500 confirmed, also attended the meeting, which was held in Dubai and included 190 governments.
Many leaders, including Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, sided with oil companies, saying they would not vote to phase out fossil fuels. Other countries, which have just started developing oil projects, argue they should be the last to implement a phase-out plan for oil. Uganda and Mozambique, both which have low access to electricity, have plans to develop or expand oil and gas production. They were among several African nations who said they would support a phase-out plan only if the big players who have long produced and burned fossil fuels were forced to phase out first.
Plastic plays a huge role in the future of fossil fuel companies. Ninety-nine percent of plastic polymers are made from fossil fuels. Petroleum derived from oil is chemically modified and pressed into nodules that can be melted and shaped into virtually anything. With an emphasis on clean energy, more and more fossil fuel companies are betting on plastics to prop up business in the future.
When the talks wrapped on December 13, delegates agreed on a finalized plan, but that plan did not mention anything about agriculture and food system emissions, which account for one-third of global carbon emissions and were expected to be a big topic at COP28.
Hugely, the final proposed draft also fell short of phasing out fossil fuels, indicating instead that countries should “transition away” and reduce their dependence on oil, gas and coal in the next few decades.
That drew huge scrutiny from a coalition of more than 100 nations that have been pushing for an end to the fossil fuel era since COP summits started convening, but have increasingly gotten pushback from the global group of oil-producing countries, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). While most countries were in favor of phasing out fossils, including mega-emitter, the United States, Saudi Arabia and a handful of countries objected to the agreement including language about reducing fossil fuel extraction or use. The plan also didn’t include details on how money would be allocated to help vulnerable nations implement climate adaption efforts.
China’s vice environment minister Zhao Yingmin supported the notion that the biggest polluters, including his own country, should be first to drastically reduce their carbon emissions. "Developed countries have unshirkable historical responsibilities for climate change," he said. But many feel the pact falls short of the action needed to slow climate change.
"We have made an incremental advancement over business as usual, when what we really need is an exponential step change in our actions," said Anne Rasmussennegotiator, the lead for the Alliance of Small Island States.
The next meeting, COP 29, will be held in November 2024, in Brazil.
Parley beach cleanup in South Africa
Plastics Everywhere
This year new studies added to a mounting pile of evidence showing that plastic is absolutely everywhere, including in us.
In August, researchers announced they have found microplastic fragments in the human heart. The 15 samples taken by surgeons, including tissues from the innermost places in the heart, harbored as much as 500 pieces of microplastic. Eight different types of plastics were also identified and plastic was found in all of the blood samples taken from the patients.
Two studies also warned that microplastics in clouds could change weather. In August, Japanese researchers published their findings from samples collected from clouds at the top of Mount Fuji. They found that microplastics in clouds likely allow clouds to suck up more moisture, altering rain patterns.
Then, in November, a team of researchers published data from 28 samples of water they collected from clouds at the top of Mount Tai in eastern China. They found that older, rougher bits of microplastics had more lead, mercury and oxygen attached to their surfaces. Coupled with past research, they said this finding could suggest that microplastics in clouds could make clouds bigger, which alters weather. While clouds can block some of the sun’s heat from reaching Earth, they can also trap heat here, accelerating climate change.
Microplastics were also lodged in the tissues of dolphins and whales, and Hawai’ian researchers found an “alarming amount” in placenta tissues. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch grew to ‘unprecedented’ levels and bizarre plastic rocks were found across five continents. Meanwhile, new research examines disturbing links between nanoplastics and Parkinson’s and some types of dementia. Every new study adds to the mountain of evidence underscoring the obvious: This can’t continue. It’s time for change.
IT’S NOT OVER YET
The plastic crisis often feels insurmountable, we get it. But there’s also a lot of good news up ahead. For starters, a Material Revolution is booming. To explore it, consider attending the Biofabricate summit held in Paris from January 10–12, 2024. The gathering will showcase the next wave of bio-innovators alongside established players in the product design industry.
A couple months later, the theme of 2024’s Earth Day will be Planet vs. Plastics. This will help keep plastic pollution front and center, including putting pressure on the UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution to finalize a plan that will effectively and drastically reduce plastic pollution over the next two decades.
United Nations delegates also set 2024 as the deadline for finalizing a global plastics treaty. There is still a lot of work to do, but delegates will meet at least two more times in 2024 to pin down details and come up with a multi-pronged plan to address the pollution, waste and social justice issues steeped in plastic. The first meeting will take place in Ottawa, Canada, from April 21–30, 2024.
And then there’s the work of societal change. You can play a role in all of this. By keeping plastic in the conversation – constantly – people can use their voices to put pressure on the big players to create meaningful change for the future. Individuals can also be part of the solution. Even small actions add up cast ripples. You never know who you’ll reach. We have the power to educate ourselves and others. There are so many ways to act. Make the Parley AIR Pledge your New Year’s Resolution. Join our Global Cleanup Network. Or take a look at our 2023 AIR Guides, our archive of deep-dives into different plastic issues. Read. Share. Educate.Drive Change.
TAKE ACTION
Read up, make noise, spread the word and give others the tools to do the same. Systemic change won’t come unless we demand it.
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