The Road to Circularity and Zero Waste: Global Agreement on Ending Plastic Pollution - Resolution UNEA 5/14

When: March 30

The UNEP LAC office co-organized the webinar The Road to Circularity and Zero Waste: Global Agreement on Ending Plastic Pollution - Resolution UNEA 5/14 (in Spanish), in collaboration with the LAC Center of Excellence on Circular Economy and Climate Change of the ISWA Regional Chapter in LAC. The event observed International Zero Waste Day, making this day's key messages and images visible. The webinar was attended online by 190 people from the LAC region, including from the public, private and academic sectors of the Latin American and Caribbean region.

The session focused on the process to develop a new legally binding international instrument on plastics, as per the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly (UNEA), and provided a space for dialogue around solutions towards plastic pollution, including perspectives from the private sector.

Humanity is estimated to generate approximately 2.2 trillion tonnes of municipal solid waste, of which only 55% is properly managed. Projected to 2050, this figure could rise to 3.8 billion tonnes. The waste sector is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in urban settlements and biodiversity loss. Each year, about 930 million tonnes of food is wasted, and projections towards 2040 indicate that plastic waste in the oceans could reach 37 million tonnes.