For recycling to truly succeed as a solution to reduce plastic pollution, the UN should focus on six key areas

The global treaty recognizes the importance of plastics recycling as an essential solution to reduce plastic pollution, but more work is needed to invest in and incentivize the business of recycling so recyclers can outcompete virgin plastic in the marketplace.

In a few short weeks, nearly 170 countries and thousands of stakeholders will gather in Ottawa, Canada for the fourth round of global negotiations, led by the United Nations, to craft a global agreement to end plastic pollution. As the fourth in a series of five planned events, the stakes could not be higher for this event to break through the current political stalemate to deliver an effective, actionable agreement. Several APR staff and many APR members will be attending the event to ensure that recyclers have a voice in the discussion and that the global agreement delivers the tools we know are needed to fully scale plastics recycling.

The APR has been actively engaged with the UN negotiations and the US government delegation for nearly 18 months. As we wrote in a previous blog post, APR's Kate Bailey attended the second round of UNEP negotiations in May 2023 and spoke at several events on the importance of recycling to meet the goals of ending plastics pollution. Kate was also featured on two UN webinars in late 2023 highlighting the importance of APR's Design Guide® for Plastics Recyclability as a global model.

Now, leading up to the fourth round of negotiations in Canada in April 2024, the APR is leaning in on the top actions needed to shape a new future where recycled plastics displace virgin plastics as the default material used in plastic packaging and products:

1. Ensure recyclers are at the table. The technical expertise and decades of operational experience of APR members and other recycling businesses around the world are essential to implementing a global agreement. APR supports the "start and strengthen" approach to use technical annexes and advisory bodies to evolve the agreement over time. Recycling operators should be part of the scientific and technical advisory bodies to ensure the work is grounded in real world experience and reflects the dynamic nature of packaging design and recycling innovations.
2. Follow the money and focus on increasing market demand for using recycled plastics in new products. In its Turning off the Tap report, the UN recognized the challenging economics of recycled plastic compared to virgin plastic and cautioned that global targets will not be met unless "recycling becomes a more stable and profitable venture." The current revised draft text makes reference to minimum recycled content standards as part of a larger section on designing for circularity. But this mention is not a sufficient acknowledgement of the economic levers needed to grow recycling. Minimum recycled content policies should be recognized as a standalone section because they are essential to improve the economic viability of recycling. Plastics recycling only works when manufacturers make long-term commitments to using recycled content instead of virgin plastic. The APR urges more focus on improving the economics of recycling through minimum recycled content requirements, stronger procurement commitments, and other economic levers.
3. Mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for all packaging. EPR policies are a necessary and proven solution to collect more plastics for recycling by delivering the needed funding to expand recycling collection and infrastructure. The APR is actively working with several US states to pass EPR policies and to effectively implement them. The APR supports mandatory obligations for countries to enact EPR policies and emphasizes that these obligations should be extended to all packaging, not just plastics. There are strong environmental and economic benefits to improved recycling for all packaging, and the financial backing of all materials producers will be necessary to make these policies work. After all, plastics are commonly less than 20 percent of household recyclables. Now is the time to build a circular economy for all materials and EPR is the most effective solution to invest in improved recycling for all packaging.
4. Promote harmonization by building upon best practices to design for circularity. In a circular economy, manufacturers are their own materials suppliers. The APR Design® Guide for Plastics Recyclability is used by manufacturers all over the world to ensure that their products are compatible with plastics recycling and can be collected, processed, and remade into new products. The APR has had several opportunities to present the guide through UN events and has also highlighted how our staff are engaged with partners in Canada, Europe, and elsewhere to harmonize design standards to ensure successful recycling. It is paramount for the UN to commit to building upon proven existing standards and the harmonization work already underway.
5. Commit to intersessional work. More time is needed to effectively develop the technical background to support many elements of the negotiation process including defining problematic plastics, chemicals of concern, design for circularity criteria, and more. It is paramount for the countries to agree on a process to work on these elements in between negotiation sessions.
6. Look beyond packaging. While much of the global conversation focuses on plastic packaging, there is tremendous need and opportunity to scale reuse, recycling and other solutions to address the 55% of all plastic used in non-packaging applications. These solutions will help build stronger recycling markets and collection programs, in turn improving packaging recycling success. Groundwork must be laid to expand the requirements to non-packaging solutions.

The UNEP process is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to scale plastic recycling so recycled content becomes the default in plastic packaging and products, replacing virgin resin. No one knows plastics recycling better than APR and its members, and the APR will continue to push for real solutions at the state, federal, and global levels to improve plastics recycling as part of the comprehensive suite of solutions needed to reduce plastic pollution.