Plastic in the human body: will the plastic convention change the situation?

Israel is the leader in the consumption of single-use plastic products. At the end of the month there will be a meeting in South Korea designed to draft an international plastic convention, and Israel is also expected to participate in it. What is that treaty and how will it affect us, if at all?

By Evelyn Anka, Zveta - Science and Environment News Agency

plastic waste. Illustration: depositphotos.com
plastic waste. Illustration: depositphotos.com


Plastic is found almost everywhere in our lives: in product packaging, in many products themselves, in the furniture in our homes, in our clothes and to my horror - also in our body. At the end of the month, 175 countries will gather for the fifth and last time, for the purpose of formulating an international plastic convention, in Busan, South Korea. These countries, members of the United Nations, are expected to succeed, hopefully, in drafting a new treaty aimed at addressing the problem of plastic pollution - one of the most complex environmental crises today.

At the beginning of 2022, a meeting of the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) took place, where a significant decision was made on dealing with the global plastic crisis - to establish Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the Development of an International Plastics Convention binding (INC Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee,). Since then, a series of sessions have been held to discuss the development of the treaty. The purpose of the agreement that will be formulated is to serve as a tool that refers to the life cycle of plastic products in a comprehensive way - from production, through design features and the chemicals that make it up to the treatment of plastic waste.

The story of plastic

Plastic entered our lives in the 50s of the last century, and is a material that is fundamentally different from materials that were used before - it is not for nothing that it has become one of the biggest environmental crises today. the raw material For the plastic industry it is crude oil. "Plastic as waste has unique and challenging effects from an environmental, economic and health point of view, which require dedicated and focused treatment," explains Levnet Goldberg, Senior Coordinator for Waste and Recycling from the Waste Treatment Division at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, who represents Israel on the committee. "Plastic breaks down into micro- and nano-plastic particles, which are now found in almost every ecosystem, and affect the health of animals and even penetrate the bodies of humans through the food and water chains. Plastic often includes dangerous chemical substances such as BPA and phthalates that are released during use and afterwards into the environment and pollute the water and the land". Plastic particles (micro-plastic and nano-plastic) have already been found everywhere in the world - in the snowy peaks, in the sea, in the streams and in the soil.

In the past, plastic was considered an inert material - a material that does not react with its environment - thus it is an excellent material for food and drink packaging and a wide variety of products. The plastic consists of thousands of different materials - base polymer, color additives, flame retardants, phthalates And a large variety of materials that give it its properties. "So far, about 16,000 different substances involved in the production of plastic have been mapped, and over 3,000 of them are classified as potentially harmful to dangerous to health," says Goldberg.

Plastic in the human body

If in the past dealing with plastic pollution was the domain of sea turtles and environmental activists, today it is clear that it is already far beyond that. Plastic pollution affects a variety of species, even in the sea And on land too. It also affects the human body, where plastic particles and its chemical additives have been found in the digestive systemin the placenta (in the fetal and maternal part), in the blood circulationin the arteriesin the brainin breast milk And health. On top of that, recently published studies link exposure to materials used in the plastic industry to diversity health implications and physiological such as cancer, hormonal activity disorders, Increase in arterial calcification And more.

Formation of the Plastics Convention. Credit Evelyn Anke, Plastic Free Israel

Therefore, one of the significant issues in such an international agreement is the issue of the chemicals used to produce plastic, in particular when the production of the plastic may take place in a different country than the one where the plastic is consumed. "Today, the testing of products and the degree of risk they pose is done upon entry into the country - a process that requires local standardization for each product, control, monitoring, enforcement and other complex and expensive bureaucracy. International standardization must be intensified during the production phase, so that the products will indeed be safe to use," explains Goldberg. "Our desire is to promote a circular economy, where the product that is out of use is recycled back into raw materials and a new product that is safe for consumption. This requires that there be transparency regarding the chemicals involved in production, and will help prevent the chance of dangerous chemicals leaking from the product in the manufacturing processes of recycled products."

who's against whom?

Already during the decision to establish the conference, two coalitions were formed. Everyone understood that the road to formulating a treaty that would curb the consumption and production of plastic to sustainable levels would not be easy. in the coalition of ambitious countries (High Ambition Coalition (HAC is the group of countries whose goal is to produce a meaningful and ambitious treaty. 64 countries are signatories to the HAC coalition, including the European Union, Norway, Great Britain, Canada, Rwanda and even Israel.

'Less ambitious' countries, to put it mildly, are mainly oil powers that also profit from plastic production. Around the third conference meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya, an 'opposition' called the Like-Minded Group - led by Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia and China - was formed. These countries are doing everything in their power to prevent or reduce restrictions on primary production of plastic and thwart attempts to significantly reduce its products. The tactic they use is based on the need to generate consensus in order to make significant decisions in order to divert and delay the discussion. Therefore, many times, the discussions revolve around decision-making rules and the need to make sure that the text presented for discussion represents everyone's opinions.

These days the signing of a declaration is being promoted in Israel "The Bridge to Busan"  - A statement that calls on countries not to ignore the primary production stages of plastic, and emphasizes that without limits on plastic production, the convention will not succeed in achieving its goals.

The scenarios: pessimism and optimism

While the countries are approaching the final stages of negotiations for the formation of the treaty, ה-the OECD published דו"ח the conclusion You your scenario the policy the possibilities to which the treaty will lead. The scenarios were classified into two categories - high ambition and partial ambition.

High ambition scenarios:

  • A strong regulatory framework: Countries will adopt comprehensive and strict regulations to limit plastic production and to promote sustainable alternatives that will result in a significant reduction in plastic waste. There will also be widespread adoption of principles Circular economy, innovations in materials and recycling technologies.
  • Scenario of market-driven solutions: The agreement will encourage businesses to innovate and develop sustainable work practices that will lead to the growth of technologies and more sustainable and circular products. Also, there will be a promotion of extended manufacturer's warranty, which will encourage customized product design and effective care after use. In this scenario the treaty would produce effective environmental outcomes, but potential gaps in regulation could persist without proper monitoring.

Partial ambition scenarios (downstream focus):

  • Focus on waste management: This scenario gives priority to improving the waste management systems and less to the regulation of the chemicals in plastic, the design of the products and an overall reduction in production. This will lead to some progress in plastic waste management, but overall plastic consumption may remain high, with limited impact on reducing pollution.
  • Fragmented and weak application: Lack of consensus between countries and uneven commitments that will lead to weak implementation mechanisms. In doing so, countries have implemented varying degrees of action, inconsistent regulations, and minimal progress.
  • Technological innovation without regulation: This scenario emphasizes technological progress in waste management without strict regulations on production. This will lead to potential breakthroughs in recycling and finding alternative materials, but without regulatory oversight of plastic production and the materials in it, recycling may continue to be challenging and it is not certain that we will be able to lead to a reduction in pollution.

Less than 10 percent of the plastic products in Israel are recycled, and 9 percent of the plastic products are transferred to thermal treatment designed to produce energy. Photo: Evelyn Anka, Plastic Free Israel

Israel's position

The Israeli delegation and the consultation group on the Plastics Convention are coordinated by Jordan Shani Rockman and Livnat Goldberg from the Ministry of Environmental Protection. Israel, like the other countries participating in the discussions, has a working and consultative group on the subject of the treaty that contributes to the formulation of its final text. While in Israel the use of plastic sharp times per soul he is בין the tall ones In the world And a significant reduction in plastic is not visible on the horizon, it is expected to bear the consequences of the convention and go through a complex process of ratification and local legislation. "Israel is the highest in the consumption of single-use products per capita, and similar to the volume of plastic recycling in the world, it too does not exceed the 10 percent recycling threshold, and an additional 9 percent is directed to be returned to energy (referring to all plastic products)," says Goldberg. That is, less than 10 percent of the plastic products in Israel are recycled, and 9 percent of the plastic products are transferred to thermal treatment designed to produce energy.

At the same time, Goldberg adds that "a number of significant moves have been made and are being made, among them: large-scale government support for the establishment and upgrading of recycling facilities - not only plastic - two private plastic recycling plants 'from bottle to bottle' have been established (from bottle waste to drinking bottles), government support has been allocated for recycling pilots at varying levels of development, producer responsibility laws will be implemented in the field of packaging waste, electronics and the deposit on beverage containers, the collections and transfer plastic waste to recycling, specifically introducing large plastic bottles into the deposit law and expanding the number of recycling facilities in Israel, promoting the assimilation of recycled material in the production of beverage containers, promoting and adopting standards for plastic Recycled in order to give certainty to the quality of the material, promoting labeling for recycled/recycled products, promoting government and private initiatives to clean beaches, preventing marine pollution with plastic, increasing enforcement and more."

Israel is a signatory to the coalition of ambitious countries and thereby strengthens its position as a country that aspires to a meaningful treaty with the understanding that international action on this issue will be simpler for local implementation. According to Goldberg, one of the advantages of the treaty for Israel is that it constitutes a working skeleton and a link for a global movement. "Israel is a country that tends to import small volumes in relation to global consumption. It usually does not control the design and composition of the product, but it does use it and usually also takes care of the product at the end of its life. Therefore, a convention that will be implemented in the manufacturing countries is significant downstream, which is found in Israel as mentioned."

The failures of plastic as waste

The difficulties in the plastic recycling process stem, among other things, from the composition of chemicals and the lack of transparency, which do not always allow safe reuse of the material. This complexity is expressed in low turnover rates in the entire world - only 9 percentage from waste The plastic the global coming for circulation. Some of the subjects of the convention deal with encouraging recycling, for example by creating restrictions on the use of dangerous chemicals and criteria for recycling-oriented design. "We must strive for plastic to be managed in a circular manner and used again and again as a renewed product," says Goldberg.

In practice, plastic is managed in a one-way manner and reaches the end of its life at the end of one life cycle for one disposal solution or another. about 22 percent From the plastic waste that is not properly managed and ends up in the open areas. Managing the life cycle of plastic is not an easy task that has turned into a global crisis, and there is a fundamental failure in the economic market in the plastic world. Business companies produce plastic products and market them with the aim of increasing their sales in all countries of the world. These businesses are responsible for the product until it reaches the customer, or shortly thereafter. However, those who are in charge of removing the products from the market and the environment are local authorities operating according to local regulation. "This situation is not balanced and increases the difficulty of dealing with the waste over time," explains Goldberg and adds that many countries, and Israel among them, have enacted producer responsibility laws - laws that aim to bridge this gap.

In Israel there are four manufacturer's liability laws - the Packaging Law, the Deposit Law, the Tire Law and the Electronic Waste Law. In these laws, the manufacturers and importers who introduce the products to the market are also responsible for their removal from the market, which includes their collection and recycling. This is done by financing the process and sometimes also by reducing the raw material and designing the products so that they are suitable for recycling. "One of the means for leading a significant improvement and a global solution to the plastic problem is a wide range of producer responsibility laws, and in particular for streams that are not economical to recycle, in their production method and the available collection options," says Goldberg.

"The volumes of waste that are increasing as a result of the massive production and consumption, the difficulty in collecting, sorting and recycling them create an economic and environmental burden on the waste management systems in many countries, which find it difficult to treat the waste in an environmentally friendly way. These countries sometimes choose to export the plastic waste to developing countries, which increases the risk of local pollution in the countries these".

A look into the future

The Plastics Convention has great potential to help with the global plastic problem. "A unique global convention represents a unified solution to a global problem, and enables countries to develop and implement coordinated policies to solve the problem. Many countries do not have the ability to address the problem alone, and therefore a global convention will promote a commitment to the development of global standards, a sustainable design standard, and adapted treatment methods, including encouraging innovation in recycling technologies, collection Plastic waste and more," concludes Goldberg.

Evelyn Anka, director of the Per Israel plastic association, deals in the field of plastic pollution in education, research and policy, is a multidisciplinary artist and has a master's degree in primate conservation.

Yordan Shani Rockman, coordinator of the Israeli delegation to negotiate the plastic treaty and environmental attaché at the Israeli embassy in Costa Rica.

More of the topic in Hayadan: