UN Plastics Treaty: Greiner calls for progress in forthcoming negotiations

The third round of negotiations for a global plastics treaty will begin in Nairobi on November 13. The UN has described the treaty as the most important international environmental agreement since the Paris Agreement. As one of the world’s leading plastics companies, Greiner is committed to a global and ambitious plastics treaty.

The aim of the third of a total of five negotiation rounds is to help almost 200 UN member states reach an agreement. For the first time, there is a rough draft, which is now to be fleshed out. It focuses on areas including funding for waste management structures and disposal systems and targets for reducing new plastic production. Rules on product design and manufacturer responsibility are also on the agenda.

“The plastics treaty is important to Greiner because we firmly believe that we need a global agreement to solve the plastics crisis. Plastics are valuable raw materials that need to be integrated into the circular economy. However, it has been clear for years that we will not achieve this without government regulation,” added Grafenhorst.

As far back as 2015, Greiner made it its goal to become a fully circular business by 2030. In addition, all packaging produced by the Greiner Packaging division is to be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. Greiner already uses recycled plastic where this is permitted by law and cost effective and is striving to successively increase its proportion of recycled materials.

The “Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty,” of which Greiner has been a member ever since it was founded, has also welcomed the first draft of the treaty. All of the more than 160 companies, NGOs and financial institutes that joined this coalition have undertaken to support the plastics treaty as soon as it takes legal effect. Negotiations are to be continued in Canada in April 2024 and completed in South Korea at the end of 2024. A final treaty is not expected until 2025.