Sign the Plastics Treaty Petition to the USA!
This petition is specifically addressed to the USA due to its position as a world economic power. On the global stage, it is important for the USA to be a leader in increasing ambition and regulating the plastics industry. In the first round of negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty in Uruguay, the USA supported weak national goals and demanded very little from industry. We need strong participation from the US for the Global Plastics Treaty to be maximally effective.
Image by Filmbetrachter via Pixabay | Top photo by Image by Bakhrom Tursunov from Pixabay
Dozens of organizations and thousands of activists are pushing for a strong plastics treaty, including a recent Plastic Solutions and Health Summit in Washington, D.C. for policy-makers and EPA representatives.
In the lead-up to the fourth set of negotiations for the Global Plastics Treaty, let’s make our voices heard! We must ensure the circular economy from the design phase, rather than rely on weak end-of-use materials management.
See the draft text of the Treaty for INC-4 here.
Image by Filmbetrachter via Pixabay | Top photo by Image by Bakhrom Tursunov from Pixabay
Who should sign this petition?
This petition is addressed to the USA, and people living in the States should definitely sign! But, the USA’s actions affect people around the world. Anyone one can sign our petition!
To: The US Government, The EPA, US Representatives to the United Nations
From: [your name]
Despite the evidence gathered over recent decades that plastic pollution is harmful to both the environment and human health, the plastics industry expects to continue growing and producing more and more plastic products in the coming years. It’s time to turn off the plastic tap!
In recognition of the plastic pollution crisis, nations met for the first Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on a Plastics Treaty in Uruguay this past November. The USA is a key player in the discussion on what a Global Plastics Treaty might look like. Given the ample capacity for leadership that the USA has as a nation, the world is watching with expectation for large developed countries to take up the mantle and limit the plastics industry.
Undeniably, it is time for the USA to follow a new playbook; one that does not lead to the same decades-long dance that we have seen with both tobacco and climate change. We have an opportunity to address the plastic pollution crisis. It is time for the US to step up and show leadership towards restoration, resource conservation, and equity. The USA needs to support strong regulatory measures for the Treaty to be effective on a scale that will reduce absolute production and mitigate climate change.
I add my name to petition the USA to support a legally binding Global Plastics Treaty that includes:
– Mandatory caps on plastic production to significantly reduce the production and use of virgin plastics from the moment the treaty enters into force. We demand absolute reduction, not a system of cap & trade or similar.
– The Polluter Pays Principle. We demand extended producer responsibility for the collection, recycling, and/or disposal of existing and future plastic products. Our municipalities (read: our taxes) should not have to subsidize the clean up of the plastics industry’s mess.
– Immediate reduction and elimination of hazardous additives and elements used in plastic production. We demand that manufacturing follow the Precautionary Principle, to only use substances that are proven safe.
– Trade and shipping stipulations to avoid loopholes. We demand global accountability, not only the participation of a few.
– Investment for and implementation of reuse, refill, and repair systems. We demand alternatives to single use.
– Harmonization of containers among industries to facilitate reuse, refill, and end-of-life recovery.
– Specific transition assistance and protections for the informal waste sector, waste pickers, sorters, and those living near plastic production and incineration sites.
The rest of the world is waiting for the USA to prove itself a leader. The people are ready for a zero waste future. It’s time for an ambitious, legally-binding Global Plastics Treaty to protect our people, our planet, and our future.
