U.S. Urged Cut in Production in Support of Global Plastics Treaty

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): In a major shift in policy, the U.S. has announced support to the global plastics treaty by urging actions aimed at reducing plastic production. The backing by one of the world’s largest plastic producers will provide big boost to the treaty, whose final round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in South Korea.

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Earlier this year, the U.S. had lined up with China and Saudi Arabia had opposed inclusion of plastic production controls in the treaty. In the UN talks, the country had instead called for focused action on recycling and reusing plastic rather than curbing its production. Meantime, several developing countries in the Asian and African continents have been demanding that stricter controls be placed on producers.

The U.S. petrochemicals industry had voiced criticism over the efforts by the UN to cap plastic production. Several industry players had cited that limiting production is unlikely to reduce pollution and that the alternatives are likely to generate even higher carbon dioxide footprint.

The sudden shift in position by the U.S. follows recent reports by a group of scientists, citing even more harmful effects of plastic. The report had warned that every plastic-associated chemical group was associated to at least one adverse health outcome.