Aafrin Kidwai 
Almost 90 international brands, including Coca Cola and PepsiCo, have called for a global pact to combat plastic pollution that includes cuts in plastic production. Kerala-based GreenWorms and Tomra are some of the waste management organizations who are signatories to a Business Statement for a Legally Binding UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution.
“A new UN treaty is crucial to set a high common standard of action for all countries to abide by, and to drive the transition to a circular economy for plastics globally and at scale. This requires governments to align on regulatory measures that cover the whole life cycle of plastics, not limiting the scope of negotiations to address waste management challenges only,” the statement reads.
World officials will meet at a United Nations Environment Assembly conference (UNEA 5.2)in February to start negotiations on a treaty to tackle a plastic waste crisis.
Over 70 signatories have signed a joint statement, including consumer goods companies like Unilever, Nestle, Ikea, H&M Group, and Mondelez.
On December 14th, over 700 civil society groups from 113 countries had called upon UN Member States to agree on the legally binding plastics treaty. From India, the signatories include Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG), Waste Warriors Society (India), Hasiru Dala (India), Stree Mukti Sanghatana (India), Swach Pune Seva Sahakari Sanstha (India) and SWMRT, and others.
