Tackling Plastic Pollution – Introduction to Global Plastic Pollution and the Discussions at the International Level

On 2 December 2019, Doris Knoblauch and Dr. Stephan Sina, Senior Fellows at Ecologic Institute, held a presentation on "Tackling Plastic Pollution – Introduction to Global Plastic Pollution and the Discussions at the International Level" for 21 experts from ministries, authorities, local government, and non-governmental institutions of low-income countries, including newly industrialized economies, at Ecologic Institute in Berlin. The presentation was part of the 79th UNEP/UNESCO/BMU International Short Course on Environmental Management: Resource Efficiency – Circular Economy and Waste Management organized by the Centre for International Postgraduate Studies of Environmental Management (CIPSEM) at the Technical University Dresden.

The aim of the presentation was to introduce the experts to the global aspects of plastic pollution and the current discussions at the international level, especially at UNEA. Based on Ecologic’s discussion paper on an international treaty on plastic waste prepared for an international roundtable discussion at the German Federal Ministry for Environment in October 2019, the participants discussed possible objectives of an international treaty and reported on current activities in their countries regarding key concepts such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).