The global plastics treaty presents Africa with a historic opportunity to address the unique challenges the continent faces from the adverse impacts of the full lifecycle of plastics. At its first session, the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC1), requested the secretariat to prepare, for consideration by the committee at its second session, a document with potential options for elements towards an international legally binding instrument, based on the submissions of member states, to which 14 African countries submitted individual inputs in addition to the African Group submission on what will form the foundational objectives; core obligations, control measures and implementing elements for the global plastics treaty.
[ARABIC] GAIA and BFFP Members in Africa Calls for African Leaders to Negotiate on a Strong Global Plastics Treaty ahead of the Second Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC2)in Paris (29 May -2 June 2023)
O tratado global de plásticos representa, para África, uma oportunidade histórica para enfrentar os desafios únicos que o continente enfrenta devido aos impactos adversos do ciclo de vida completo dos plásticos. Na sua primeira sessão, o Comité Intergovernamental de Negociação (INC1) solicitou à secretaria que preparasse, para consideração do Comité na sua segunda sessão, um documento com possíveis opções de elementos para um instrumento internacional juridicamente vinculativo, com base nas contribuições dos Estados-Membros, para o qual 14 países Africanos enviaram contribuições individuais, além da apresentação do Grupo Africano sobre o que formará os objectivos fundamentais; obrigações essenciais, medidas de controle e elementos de implementação para o tratado global de plásticos.
Mkataba wa kimataifa wa taka plastiki unaipa Afrika fursa ya kihistoria ya kushughulikia changamoto za kipekee ambazo bara linakabili kutokana na athari mbaya za uwepo wa mifumo ya plastiki. Katika kikao chake cha kwanza, kamati ya majadiliano ya mkataba huu (INC1), iliomba sekretarieti kuandaa, kwa kuzingatiwa makubaliano ya kamati kuelekea kikao chake cha pili, hati yenye vipengele vya msingi vitakavyosaidia kupata mkataba wa kimataifa unaofungamanisha kisheria, kwa kuzingatia uwasilishaji wa nchi zilizo sehemu ya mkataba ambapo nchi 14 za Kiafrika ziliwasilisha mapenedekezo binafsi ukiachana na mapendekezo jumuishi juu ya malengo ya msingi; majukumu ya msingi, hatua za kudhibiti na kutekeleza mambo kwenye mkataba huu wa plastiki wa kimataifa.
Le traité mondial sur les plastiques offre à l’Afrique une occasion historique de relever les défis uniques auxquels le continent est confronté en raison des effets néfastes du cycle de vie intégral des plastiques. À sa première session, le Comité de négociation intergouvernemental (CNI1) a prié le secrétariat d’établir, pour examen par le Comité à sa deuxième session, un document contenant des options potentielles pour les éléments d’un instrument international juridiquement contraignant, sur la base des communications des États membres, auquel 14 pays africains ont soumis des contributions individuelles en plus de la communication du Groupe africain sur ce qui constituera les objectifs fondamentaux, obligations fondamentales, mesures de contrôle et éléments de mise en œuvre du Traité mondial sur les plastiques.
The global plastics treaty presents Africa with a historic opportunity to address the unique challenges the continent faces from the adverse impacts of the full lifecycle of plastics. At its first session, the intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC1), requested the secretariat to prepare, for consideration by the committee at its second session, a document with potential options for elements towards an international legally binding instrument, based on the submissions of member states, to which 14 African countries submitted individual inputs in addition to the African Group submission on what will form the foundational objectives; core obligations, control measures and implementing elements for the global plastics treaty.
In 2012, the Drakenstein municipality signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Interwaste, a waste management company, to construct a municipal waste incinerator to address the municipalities waste issues.
The resistance to this municipal incinerator involved several key actors, this included the Drakenstein Environmental Watch (DEW), Wellington Association Against the Incinerator (WAAI), groundWork (gW), South African Waste Pickers Association (SAWPA), GAIA, community residents, vulnerable groups that
would have been affected by the project, water experts, engineers and legal clinics were just some of the agents that supported the resistance of the municipal waste incinerator.
Waste pickers from South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Morocco and Zambia have demonstrated the common need for official recognition from national and municipal governments, better working conditions, PPE, improved payment for their recovered materials and collection and processing service, and an end to social stigmatisation.
The experience of organising shows that these needs are achievable through building representative organisations that will ensure that their voices are heard in negotiations with governments and demonstrate their value to society.
This requires waste pickers to work collaboratively and embed the principles of democracy, equality and environmental justice in their organised structures. Furthermore, municipalities and national governments need to recognise the value that waste pickers play in diverting waste from the landfills, encouraging recycling where materials re-enter the economy and addressing poverty by providing an income for individuals that have been excluded from the formal economy.
International, European, Italian and Tunisian environmental groups have joined in demanding the immediate return of 282 containers full of mixed municipal waste that were illegally exported from Italy’s Campania region to the Port of Sousse in Tunisia between May and July 2020. According to the environmental organizations, the exports violated European Union law, Tunisian law as well as international waste trade treaties — the Basel Convention, the Bamako Convention and the Izmir Protocol of the Barcelona Convention.
In 2021 we made great strides as a movement and continued to spread awareness on our calls for a just, healthy and zero waste society.
To celebrate our victories, we put together this short region review of the year 2021. We recognise that there were many more highlights to celebrate in the movement, but these are a select few that we have been closely engaging on.