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Waste management encompasses a wide range of strategies and practices aimed at handling plastic waste throughout its lifecycle to minimise environmental impacts and promote sustainability. These strategies include waste reduction and prevention measures, such as reduction-at-source and product redesign, to minimise plastic waste generation at its origin. Efficient collection and sorting systems are essential for gathering and transporting plastic waste from households, businesses, and public spaces to appropriate processing facilities. Recycling and recovery play critical roles, transforming plastic waste into new materials or products through mechanical or chemical recycling, conserving resources, and reducing dependence on virgin plastics. For waste that cannot be recycled feasibly, environmentally responsible disposal methods, such as waste-to-energy incineration or landfilling, are used to prevent contamination and ecosystem harm.
Effective waste management relies on robust policies and governance frameworks that incentivise sustainable practices, foster innovation, and ensure accountability among stakeholders. Collaborative efforts involving governments, local authorities, industries, and civil society are vital in developing and implementing integrated waste management strategies tailored to specific contexts and challenges. By prioritising waste reduction, efficient collection and sorting, recycling, recovery, and responsible disposal, these approaches aim to mitigate the environmental impacts associated with plastic production and consumption while promoting a sustainable approach to managing plastic waste.
Plastic waste management enjoys a widespread concensus, as countries work toward solutions to the persistent problem of plastic pollution. The treaty emphasises establishing robust systems for waste collection, sorting, and recycling to minimise plastic leakage into the environment. Proposals include enhancing infrastructure for waste segregation, adopting advanced recycling techniques, and encouraging circular economy principles. Investments in waste management technologies and cross-border collaboration are also being explored to optimise resource utilisation.
Brazil and Norway have been at the forefront of advancing proactive proposals to strengthen the draft agreement. Norway has emphasised the importance of recycling practices that yield high-quality, non-toxic recycled materials, while Brazil has stressed the need for a just transition for impacted communities, particularly waste pickers.
Countries such as Canada, the UK, US, Japan, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Thailand, India, and the EU have shown alignment with the existing provisions. India has specifically supported the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR), recognising varying capacities among nations to address waste management challenges. The EU has pushed for measures to bolster the market for secondary plastics, and Japan has included “recovery” as an additional treatment mechanism within recycling strategies.
These combined efforts reflect a global commitment to integrated and sustainable waste management practices that address the challenges of plastic pollution while supporting environmental, economic, and social sustainability.
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