BIR joins plastics life cycle effort

The Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) has committed to support efforts toward ending plastic pollution worldwide by signing the Bridge to Busan Declaration.

The Brussels-based recycling organization says the Bridge to Busan Declaration highlights the urgency of addressing the entire plastic life cycle, including the "unsustainable production of virgin plastic polymers.”

The declaration is named after the South Korean city of Busan, which hosts the next United Nations Plastic Treaty intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) meeting in November and December.

BIR says that effort aligns with its long-held position that combatting plastic pollution requires full transparency across the plastic value chain, to increase recycling rates and enable a circular and sustainable economy.

“As a signatory to this landmark declaration, BIR aligns itself with other members of the UN Plastic Treaty’s INC, advocating for the development of a legally binding international instrument to tackle plastic pollution," the organization says.

Although recycling is not a front-and-center part of the Bridge to Busan Declaration, BIR says focusing solely on waste management is "insufficient to meet the ambitious goals of reducing plastic pollution.”

The declaration’s proposed legally binding international framework, advocates for several different outcomes, some of which will directly support recycling.

The BIR lists as UN Plastics Treaty goals: 1) full transparency throughout the plastic value chain; 2) a more sustainable primary plastic production rate; 3) requirements for sustainable product design and recycled content targets; and 4) restrictions on hazardous chemical additives in primary plastic polymer production, which can likewise help plastic recyclers and recycled plastic users avoid later liability.

The fifth meeting of the INC takes place in Busan from Nov. 25-Dec. 1. The INC will aim to complete its work on the legally binding instrument by the end of that session, although the BIR says there is still a lot of progress to be made on refining the treaty text.