On October 25th, 2023, the ICCF Group hosted a panel discussion in Washington, DC on marine debris, plastic pollution, and a proposed Global Plastics Treaty.
The panelists consisted of Senator Lisa Jawahir of Saint Lucia, Hon. Francisco Mucanheia of Mozambique, Congressman Eduardo Murat of Mexico, Representative Elizabeth Jay-Pang Díaz of Colombia, and Mr. Siry Hendra Yusran of Indonesia.
Hon. Barry Gardiner, Member of Parliament from the United Kingdom, moderated the discussion and opened by describing how humanity’s reliance on plastic is polluting the world’s oceans.
Each year, 400 million tons of plastic are produced, 11 million of which flows into the ocean. It is expected to triple by 2040 if production continues unchecked. This, he said, is why a global plastics treaty is essential to the future health of the planet. Panelists described the effects of plastic pollution on each of their countries and what strides their governments are taking to combat the issue.
Deputy Eduardo Murat opened by speaking of the current challenges surrounding combatting plastic pollution in Mexico.
Before he was a Federal Deputy, he served as a Senator and president of the environment committee. His goal was to educate the Senate in hopes of finding an integrated solution to the country's plastic use. In his educational project, Deputy Murat included definitions of commonly used terms in the plastic discussion to avert common confusion and gain common understanding of the issue. This proved difficult and was met with extreme viewpoints: environmental groups wanting complete change and individuals refusing to learn about plastic pollution issues. Deputy Murat has presented a bill to combat plastics, but it was met with backlash. He also introduced 40 initiatives which consolidated to a mere two bills which have yet to be voted on. These bills were not as targeted as initially intended and do not address producer responsibility.
Senator Lisa Jawahir spoke next of how plastic influences the island nation of Saint Lucia and what she hopes to gain from the dialogue on plastics. Before the pandemic, 70% of Saint Lucia’s GDP came from tourism. Thus, plastic waste on once-pristine beaches threatens the nation’s economic stability. In 2019, Saint Lucia passed a ban on single use plastics. Even so, because the country only has one landfill, plastic waste must be exported, creating another cost. Senator Jawahir mentioned further concerns about how international policy like a Global Plastics Treaty can be implemented in a small country like Saint Lucia, when local issues regarding waste management have yet to be solved.
Representative Elizabeth Jay Pang Diaz joined the discussion next, describing how her region of San Andrés, Colombia, a small island much like Saint Lucia, relies on tourism for their economy.
San Andrés experiences the physical effects of plastic pollution: fish, birds, and turtles washing up with plastic wrapped around their bodies. This plastic doesn’t just originate from Colombia, but from around the world. The Representative emphasized the importance of a circular economy and the need to work with the Colombian Congress to integrate San Andrés with the rest of the country. Elizabeth assessed that Columbia has achieved 60% out of 100.
Hon. Fransisco Mucanheia, current Advisor to the President of Mozambique, created the first caucus in his country to address plastic pollution (Mozambican Parliamentary Conservation Forum).
Coastline activities such as fishing have been hindered because of the plastics in the ocean and on the beaches. The Mozambican constitution states that citizens are entitled to a balanced environment free of pollution. To protect this right, the Ministry of the Environment was created and issued regulations with an environmental framework moving towards a blue economy. The government of Mozambique is conducting campaigns that involve stakeholders and government officials to address plastic pollution in both public and private sectors. Hon. Francisco Mucanheia asserts that the main challenge in Mozambique regarding plastic pollution involves local governments.
Siry Hendra Yusran of Indonesia shared that the country has reduced coal consumption by 40% in an attempt to lower its carbon footprint.
A question from the audience prompted panelists to address how each country is handling the use of single-use plastics (SUPs) specifically. Mr. Siry Hendra Yusran asserted that Indonesia is in the process of reducing SUP consumption. This is occurring through restrictions and fees, especially those SUPs with easily available alternatives. In Saint Lucia, the Senator shared that SUPs and styrofoam are banned. The ‘Styrofoam and Plastics Food Service Containers (Prohibition) Act No. 22 of 2019’ has been enacted, supporting an import ban on all styrofoam and certain SUP food service containers.
The Representative from San Andres shared that her citizens are becoming creative with plastic reuse strategies. Furthermore, in 2023, the Colombia Plastics Pact was launched, aiming to completely eliminate problematic and unnecessary plastics and exclusively utilizing reusable, recyclable, or compostable plastic packaging.
Hon. Fransisco Mucanheia explained that Mozambique currently exports the pollution discarded in their oceans, so education of the issue throughout the country is needed. That being said, the Mozambican Parliament approved a bill to ban plastic bags this year, and the law will come into effect in 2024.
Deputy Murat assessed that Mexico is “going backward” as he believes the government is backing the industries at fault rather than protecting the consumers. Some regions have had more success than others; Mexico City reformed its Solid Waste Law to ban SUPSs including plastic bags from December 2020 and plastic straws and cutlery from January 2021. Deputy Murat aptly summarized the panel’s main theme, asserting that consumers, companies, or governments alone cannot be blamed individually for waste challenges, but that all sectors must work together to be solution-oriented.
Senator Jawahir’s participation in the panel briefing was made possible by the GEF-funded, UNEP-implemented project “Advancing Conservation in the Eastern Caribbean.” She is a founding member of the St. Lucian Parliamentary Conservation Caucus, which seeks to address environmental challenges and promote the conservation of natural resources in Saint Lucia.
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