OECD: Plastic pollution resources

In the context of the fifth round of Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) negotiations to establish a global legally-binding plastics treaty this week, we wanted to share these relevant OECD findings on plastic pollution.

• The OECD's recent publication Policy Scenarios for Eliminating Plastic Pollution by 2040 found that comprehensive global policies addressing the entire plastics lifecycle can reduce plastic leakage into the environment by 96% by 2040. The report provides a range of scenarios that differ in their degree of policy stringency, lifecycle scope and geographical coverage.
• The Working Paper Monitoring trade in plastic waste and scrap found that less plastic waste and scrap is being exported by OECD countries to non-OECD countries from 2017 to 2022 however some countries still export substantial volumes. 
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a policy approach that makes producers responsible for their products along the entire lifecycle, including at the post-consumer stage. Extended Producer Responsibility: Basic facts and key principles summarises the current consensus on the EPR policy approach.
• The 2022 Global Plastics Outlook quantifies the current production, use, disposal and key environmental impacts throughout the entire plastics lifecycle and identifies opportunities for reducing the negative externalities.

The OECD will be organising and participating in several events during INC-5 which media are welcome to join, including:

• Uniting for a Plastic-Free Future: Policy Approaches and Global Collaboration (26 Nov, in-person)
• Towards a common understanding of the potential of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in the context of the Plastics Treaty (also 26 Nov, in-person)

Our work on plastic pollution seeks to inform and support stronger policy interventions and I'd be glad to connect you with the authors of this work anytime.