Africa on the front line to demand reduction of plastic production

As the home stretch of a round of negotiations on plastic pollution begins in Ottawa, the states are not giving up on the issue of production. Faced with a grouping of States – including the Gulf countries, fiercely against the establishment of a cap on plastic production – several African countries are campaigning for the adoption of an ambitious treaty.

For almost a week, delegates from 176 countries have picked up where they left off, at the end of November, in Nairobi, during the third round of negotiations with a view to adopting a legally binding international agreement on plastics .

While calls for a reduction in plastic production have been numerous since the very beginning of the talks, several countries are reluctant, or even opposed, to any discussion on this issue.

Faced with representatives from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, China and Russia, who consider it a priority to focus on product design and improving recycling, a coalition of nearly 65 countries are demanding instead A high level of ambition.

These states agree that the production and consumption of plastics, which have reached unsustainable levelsmust be limited.

Among these, we find nearly fifteen African countries. Rwanda, one of the first countries in the world to ban single-use plastic bottles and bags, co-chairs this coalition alongside Norway.

In recent days, Rwanda, judged to be a leader in the fight against plastic pollution, tabled a proposal with Peru so that the final text of the treaty includes a flagship target, like the major agreements on plastics. climate change and biodiversity.

We do not have time to lose. […] The vast majority of African member states support reducing plastic production to sustainable levels.

For C”,”text”:”align with the Paris Agreement target of limiting warming to 1.5°C”}}”>align with the Paris Agreement target of limiting warming to 1.5°Cthe proposal states, the goal should be to reduce, starting in 2025, 40% of primary plastic polymers by 2040.

These polymers are used in the composition of most of the plastic items we use every day – and they represent the majority of plastic production on the planet.

Small production; big impacts

Africa is not a major producer of plastic. However, we are strongly affected by all this pollutionnotes Hellen Kahaso Dena, head of the Pan-African Plastics Project at Greenpeace Africa.

The 54 African nations produce only 5% of the plastic on the planet and consume only 4%. But strong population growth and urban development have led to a rise in single-use plastics on the continent.

We also deal with the burden of colonialism; Western countries have tended to dump their waste in different parts of Africa, underlines Hellen Kahaso Dena. And this, despite the fact that most countries on the continent have neither the means nor the adequate networks to manage waste.

Already, the recycling rate worldwide is very low, less than 10%. In Africa, we don’t even have the infrastructure to do that.

Discarded into the environment or incinerated in the open, waste poses a threat to the health of African communities, either by contributing to the breeding of disease-carrying mosquitoes or by releasing harmful pollutants that can cause respiratory problems.

The indiscriminate elimination of plastic risks reducing soil porosity to the point of breaking the cycle of regeneration of water resources and reducing the quality of agricultural landnotes the World Health Organization.

The abandonment of plastic waste in the environment can also endanger residents near watercourses. Dena. And what we’re seeing is that plastic is accumulating in rivers and stopping water from flowing.”,”text”:”Right now, back home in Kenya, we’ve had heavy rains and significant flooding, explains Ms. Dena. And what we’re seeing is that plastic is accumulating in rivers and stopping water from flowing.”}}”>Right now, back home in Kenya, we have had heavy rains and significant flooding, says Ms. Dena. And what we’re seeing is that plastic is accumulating in rivers and stopping water from flowing.

In less affluent localities and densely populated regions, which are more at risk of flooding worsened by the plastic problem, she continues, the obstruction of drainage systems can be devastating.

Restrictions across the continent

To counter the harmful effects of plastic pollution, many African countries have adopted laws to ban or restrict their use.

After banning the manufacture, use, sale and importation of plastic bags in 2008, Rwanda in 2019 became the first country on the African continent to impose a total ban on single-use plastics.

While some states are banning non-biodegradable plastics, others are attacking thin plastics, which are notably used in grocery bags. This is the case in Madagascar, where plastic bags less than 0.05 millimeters thick have been banned since 2015.

Other countries, such as South Africa and Eswatini, impose a purchase tax instead.

According to the African nationals met by Radio-Canada in Ottawa, the biggest challenge, however, remains ensuring compliance with these regulations. The difference in laws in force from one country to another and the absence of effective monitoring mechanisms have compromised their implementation.

Although not all African countries are pleading for a reduction in production, the majority of States managed to come together during the negotiations so that a mention in this sense carves out a place in the final text, according to Hellen Kahaso Dena.

For island states, the laws adopted by governments to stop plastic pollution are only limited in scope – hence the need for a binding international treaty.

% of our products, and they arrive in the country in plastic packaging”,”text”:”We import 90% of our products, and they arrive in the country in plastic packaging”}}”>We import 90% of our products, and they arrive in the country in plastic packagingexplains Rajendra Kumar Foolmaun, who works for the Ministry of the Environment of Mauritius.

Plastic waste from elsewhere, carried by sea currents to the shores of Mauritius, has also contributed to the presence of microplastics on the beaches and in the lagoon, he adds. This is why we believe that the solution must be global.

For an ambitious and clear treaty

Malawi, a member of the coalition in favor of high ambition in order to put an end to plastic pollution, is counting on the adoption of a clear and ambitious text to help it ban plastic bags for good.

After banning thin plastics in 2015, the government faced a decision from the High Court, which quickly invalidated its regulation, contested by around fifteen plastic manufacturers.

Reinstated in 2019, the law has since been delayed by numerous injunctions from the industry.

Environmentalists in Malawi therefore hope that the treaty will tackle with strength and clarity to plastics deemed problematic and non-essential by the scientific community, says Dr Tiwonge Mzumara-Gawa, an ecologist and lecturer at the Malawi University of Science and Technology.

The companies that produce these thin plastics wield great influence, which is why we rely [sur le traité] to end the impasse.

Dr. Mzumara-Gawa hopes that states, who will meet in Busan, South Korea, in November for the fifth and final round of negotiations before the treaty is adopted, will agree to reduce production levels and improve plastic waste management.

It is imperative to tackle the legacy of plastic already present in the environment and the plastic that continues to be producedshe summarizes.

We cannot talk about this treaty if there is no question of reducing production, she decides. Because even if we act on other fronts, ultimately we will continue to suffer the impacts of plastic pollution.