"Plastic is in nature and now it is in our lungs, so it is high time to stop this invasion, first by stopping the growth of plastic production," Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said ahead of the debates.
In particular, it is necessary to "eliminate single-use plastic (...) That's 40% of the world's production that is frankly useless," she added.
Discussions on Saturday morning focused on "the production, consumption and sustainable use of plastics to achieve a circular economy". The afternoon should be devoted to the "rational management of plastic waste" and the prevention of its release into the environment.
But "we must be careful that the issue of recycling does not replace the debate on reducing the production of plastics," added the Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu.
But annual production, which has more than doubled in 20 years to 460 million tonnes (Mt), could triple again by 2060 if nothing is done.
"If we increase our recycling rates, but at the same time we increase our production, we will have gone backwards in solving the problem. So, firstly we reduce, secondly we increase the share of recycling," added the minister.
His remarks refer to the objective of "reducing use and production" put forward by the most ambitious countries (a coalition of 55 countries led by Rwanda and Norway, including the European Union, Canada, Chile and, since Friday, Japan and Gabon).
This objective is also hammered home by NGOs and scientists. But other nations, on the side of Asia (China and India in particular) or the United States, are more reluctant and insist above all on recycling and the fight against waste abandoned in nature.
"The best evidence shows that reducing production will be key to solving the problem," said Richard Thompson, a member of the Coalition of Scientists for a Successful Plastics Treaty.
A 5-metre-high installation made from plastic bottles by Canadian artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong, in Paris, May 27, 2023 © bERTRAND GUAY / AFP
The small share of recycling is also explained because "few products have been designed for a circular economy", he explained, recalling the need to "redesign materials".
Zero waste in 2040?
Just over a year ago in Nairobi, Kenya, 175 countries reached an agreement in principle to end plastic pollution worldwide with the ambition to develop a legally binding treaty under the auspices of the United Nations by the end of 2024.
After the first technical negotiations at the end of 2022 in Uruguay, Paris will host from Monday to Friday the second session out of the five planned.
Governance issues have so far dominated the exchanges, but the five days of discussions should make it possible to draw the main orientations, or even a first draft text.
The stakes are high while plastic, from petrochemicals, is everywhere: packaging, clothing fibers, construction equipment, medical tools...
Garbage of all sizes ends up at the bottom of the oceans, in the pack ice, the stomachs of birds and even on the top of mountains. Microplastics have been detected in blood, breast milk or placenta.
The two scenarios for the future of plastic © Sabrina BLANCHARD, Julia Han JANICKI / AFP
Plastic is also problematic for its role in global warming: it accounted for 1.8 billion tons of greenhouse gases in 2019, 3.4% of global emissions, a figure that could more than double by 2060 according to the OECD.
In April in Japan, the G7 set a goal of reducing plastic emissions into the environment to zero by 2040.
© 2023 AFP