Break Free From Plastic

“Sorry, we don’t have single-use cups.” During the hot and humid summer weekends in Guangzhou, China, now you can enjoy a refreshing cup of iced coffee or juice in a more environment-friendly way – to “rent” a cup from a nearby reusable cup rental station, by scanning the QR code on the cup with your phone, and no deposit needed. After finishing your favorite drink, just remember to return the cup by scanning the QR code again on a returning machine.

Renting a cup instead of using a single-use one is a great way to reduce plastic waste. On June 21-22 at Poly Sunny Walk (Taojin), consumers were introduced to this new lifestyle on the Reuse Day. "It's a breeze!" a consumer told the reporter after having the coffee.

More and more people begin to engage in green actions to protect the health of themselves as well as the earth as a whole, including not using single-use plastic products, and embracing zero-waste practices. In the spirit of environmental protection, the first Reuse Day in China was successfully held in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with the aim to advocate reuse, reduce plastic waste and cut carbon emissions. It was co-organized by Plastic Free China, Jingcao Carnival of Society of Entrepreneurs & Ecology, One Planet Foundation, and Green Pir; and partnered with Ecobuzz to supply the reusable cups. The event was also pleased to have Patagonia, China Zero Waste Alliance, Herbeast and Poly Sunny Walk as sustainability partners, and volunteers from DBS Technology China Volunteer Service Team.

In addition, the first Reuse Day was honored to have Angie Chiu Ngar Chi, actress, and Xu Jiaqi, actress and singer, as Ambassadors, calling on more public engagement in everyday actions that advocates sustainable lifestyle and green consumption habits, in response to building the Beautiful China and Ecological China.

According to Plastic Free China, the Reuse Day attracted over 33,000 visitors in total. The main event was held in Guangzhou, with satellite events in Beijing and Shanghai, bringing together environmental organizations and businesses from across the Greater Bay Area and the nation. The Reuse Day is the first cross-regional program in China that focuses on reuse, and develops a new route to integrate public welfare activities and regional cooperation. It promotes deeper integration in environmental technology and green consumption across the Greater Bay Area, injecting new momentum into regional synergy for building the Beautiful China.

In 2023, more than 410 million tons of plastic were produced around the world, but only less than 9% of them were finally recycled. In big cities in China, for each ton of waste, incineration costs 518 yuan, and landfill, 1,189 yuan. Single-use plastics seem inexpensive, while our environment and society suffer – incineration and landfilling pollute the environment, and plastics eventually break down into microplastics that make their way back into our bodies through the food chain.

Packaging is deeply rooted in the modern lifestyle. Fortunately, people start to look for more environment-friendly alternatives to replace the ubiquitous single-use packaging. In the widely accepted 3Rs principle, namely, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, reuse is the core solution that focuses on reduction at the source.

So, what is reuse? “Reuse is all about using an item more than once. It means the item is used over and over again, for the same purpose without changing how it works or its condition, usually not recycled or only slightly repaired,” Zheng Xue, Director-general of Plastic Free China, explained. Take your own bag for shopping, go to a bulk or zero-waste store, and go downstairs with your own cup to get a refreshing coffee during exam week or work – these are typical examples of reuse. And, when you were young, you carried the empty bottle to the kiosk for soy sauce, or grabbed a bowl to buy tofu pudding nearby for breakfast, which are also very early examples of the latest lifestyle.

In the field of packaging, the reuse packing system is divided in to four types based on who owns it and where it is used. Namely, they are refilling at home, refilling at a designated place, returning at home, and returning at a designated place. At the event, the reusable cup provided by Ecobuzz falls into the category of returning at a designated place.

At the Reuse Day bazaar, Ecobuzz, the designated reusable cup supplier, provided cups of both hot and cold drinks for rental. Each cup has its own identity QR code, and can be recycled through a special recycling system, which improves reuse and same-level recycling efficiency. In this way, fewer raw materials will be used, thus significantly reducing carbon emissions.

Ecobuzz staff also responded to the hygiene concerns from consumers. Otto, project manager of Ecobuzz, said, “Hygiene and safety are our priorities. We have established a professional cleaning and disinfection process. After the cup is returned, our professional team will implement 6 strict processes, that is, inspect, rinse, clean, disinfect, flush, and dry at high temperature. All cups will be manually inspected before they are put back into use. In addition, we will regularly sample the cleaned cups and send to the laboratory for testing, to ensure the cups meet the hygiene standards.”

As green consumption habits of zero plastic and zero waste go popular, bulk and zero-waste shops pop up in cities. Before going to these shops, consumers need to prepare necessary packaging themselves, such as glass bottles, shopping bags, and bags for fresh food. Maxam, a daily chemical product producer, made a special appearance at the Bazaar with its eye-catching bulk laundry detergent and refilling tools. Participants can take the detergent away in their own containers after completing the interaction games at the booth. At the Guangzhou venue, Buy Something Farm Store presented a series of bulk healthy snacks and homemade organic drinks, attracting many to have a try.

More and more daily chemical product producers are joining in this trend, by introducing bagged refills of laundry detergent, clothing conditioner, shampoo and hand soap, so that consumers can refill their empty bottles. Meanwhile, many personal and skin care product producers also have introduced refills and replacement cartridges with lighter packaging and relatively less waste. At the first Reuse Day bazaar, many brands brought a wide range of refill products for consumers to choose from, including Watsons, SukGarden, Dettol, Spes, Curel, Zhuben, and KireiKirei, to name a few. The all-paper decorated booth of BambooComet, a sustainable lifestyle brand, drew the attention of many visitors. Known as a plastic-free home living brand, ranging from product to packaging, it has already received praise from numerous fans for its commitment to zero plastic use. “Buying a pack of BambooComet pocket tissues (160 sheets) means reduction of about 23 small plastic bags, equivalent to at least 25 grams of single-use plastic,” a staff of the brand introduced at the booth.

Zero-waste initiatives, such as second-hand flea markets and repairing instead of discarding, give birth to new businesses as well. The C&P Clothing Art Center, initiated by young people in Guangzhou, along with other clothes-mending booths, offered a variety of services including basic repairs, creative mending, and upcycling. Moreover, these booths offer tailored makeover plans for old clothes with sentimental value, which attracted a lot of attention as well as orders.

In the context of frequent occurrence of extreme weather, people become more aware of the climate change crisis, and more willing to shift to the environment-conscious lifestyle. In the future, reuse will be further integrated to everyday scenarios, and enables everyone to live a life that is convenient, environment-friendly, high-quality, and healthy. At the Reuse Day bazaar stood the art installation, “Reuse Community”, created by the Guangzhou-based artist studio Springflut. It was covered with visitors’ visions and hopes for the future of reuse: "Running into a reuse lifestyle with kitties!" "Living close to neighbors, pursuit for beauty," "A future without illness"... Reuse, it seems, is not only a solution to the environmental crisis, but also a path to a better, healthier, and more harmonious life.

The majority of countries, including the Pacific Small Island Developing States, the European Union, and champion countries in Latin America and Africa, are aligned in key provisions to address the plastic pollution crisis across the life cycle—such as addressing plastic production, banning toxic chemicals, and setting clear financial mechanisms for implementation. Yet, a handful of oil and plastic-producing countries—Saudi Arabia, Russia, and the United States, among others—have gotten away with obstructing the process, which has been fixated on an unachievable consensus. If ambitious nations want to stop the endless loop of blocked deals, they must find a new path to advance the negotiations.

Despite a lack of space for interventions and restricted access throughout the process, Indigenous Peoples, frontline and fenceline communities, waste pickers, workers, scientists, and civil society have consistently brought their views into the heart of these corporate-heavy negotiations. Their knowledge, experience, and expertise have been instrumental in shifting the narrative on plastic pollution from a narrow focus on marine litter to a widespread affirmation that plastic pollutes throughout its entire life cycle. Their work highlighted countries’ duty to place human health and human rights at the core of the treaty negotiations.

As delegates leave Geneva, observers emphasize the need for a clear and effective process moving forward that ensures the majority of countries can work together to fulfill the mandate that brought them here - to protect the world and future generations from plastic pollution. The last ten days have seen a majority of countries finding further alignment on key elements for an effective treaty, and rejecting a weak treaty text; they must now turn their words into collective and decisive action. Meanwhile, the fight against plastic pollution continues in various forms across the world. Frontline communities are challenging - including through legal avenues - harmful facilities and practices, such as petrochemical production and expansion, incineration, and waste colonialism. NGOs and communities, together with local authorities and (small) businesses, are supporting strong regulatory frameworks at the national and local level, while implementing zero-waste solutions, including reuse and refill systems, paving the path towards a future free from plastic pollution. 

Break Free From Plastic members react to the end of the Plastics Treaty INC-5.2:

Fabienne McLellan, Managing Director, OceanCare (Switzerland), said:

“Despite the disappointing outcome, these negotiations have shown both the best and worst of multilateral diplomacy. We witnessed passionate efforts from over 120 countries – including progressive leaders like Colombia, Panama, Fiji, the UK and the EU – standing firm for science-based measures against enormous pressure from the petrochemical states. The process itself resembled climate COPs more than traditional environmental agreements, with the same fierce resistance from vested interests but also remarkable determination from the majority to push for real action. What's encouraging is that this has built coalitions and raised global awareness about plastic pollution in ways we've never seen before.”

Larisa Orbe, Acción Ecológica México (México), said: 

“Organizations that see the impact of plastic pollution on communities and nature every day will not stop. We will continue to fight for a plastic-free world by promoting policies in our countries that protect us and we are ready to continue supporting our governments in making the best decisions. The last few years have been a great learning experience for the organizations that have followed the negotiations. We are prepared to continue fighting and making progress so that future generations of all living beings can live in a world free of plastics.”

Jo Banner, Co-Founder, The Descendants Project (U.S.), said: 

“Although the current round of negotiations to establish a plastics pollution treaty is a failure, it is a step forward on the path to developing an instrument that will protect frontline communities. Fenceline communities, like mine in “Louisiana’s Cancer Alley,”  suffer immensely from the extraction and production of plastic. It is encouraging to see the majority of countries listening to our interventions and pushing back against petrostates that are aiming to drown us in trash and smother us with toxic chemicals by continuing their advocacy for plastic production. Yet, fenceline community members are still here, more passionate than ever to do their part in establishing an effective treaty. Now it is time for Member States to do theirs. Our movement will only grow stronger as we continue to engage with scientists, finance experts, Indigenous knowledge holders, and other frontline advocates, demanding a stop to plastic production. It is time to break the chains of the modern-day slavery of plastic and free communities who have lived with the sacrifice of their human rights for too long.”

Pui Yi Wong, Researcher at  Basel Action Network (Malaysia), said: 

“This process of negotiation at the plastics treaty INCs is fundamentally flawed. The same arguments have been repeated for more than two years, with no convergence in sight. We should not waste any more precious time and resources doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. The process must be changed, including the consideration of voting for decision-making. The plastic crisis is worsening every second. Importantly for the Global South, millions of kilograms of plastic waste continue to be exported to low-income countries, overwhelming their domestic waste management systems. Several Global South countries had called for prior notification and consent for all plastic waste exports in the treaty agreement, but their demands had been ignored by other member states. This, coupled with no controls on the transparency of chemicals nor planned phase-out of hazardous chemicals, exposes recipient countries and communities to serious harms.”

Rico Euripidou, Chemicals and Campaign Support, groundWork South Africa (South Africa), said: 

“Plastic harms health along its whole life cycle. In particular, the chemicals added to give plastics their properties are where the scientific evidence of the health harms of plastics is strongest. To address the most harmful of these chemicals routinely added to plastics and plastics  products, traceability and tracking of these chemicals must be a mandatory requirement alongside elements to measure the health harms in the future treaty.”

Additional reactions from BFFP members and allies (including additional countries and languages) are being added here.

The last 24 hours

The INC-5.2 negotiation process had many flaws and persistent challenges, as demonstrated by the INC Chair’s surprising statement shortly before midnight on what was supposed to be the final scheduled day of negotiations—following hours of delay that left country ministers, delegates, and observers alike waiting and in the dark—wherein he announced that the meeting would be adjourned until a time “to be determined” the following day. Plenary reconvened at 5:30 am with limited advance notice—running the spirits of small delegations from the Global South at a complete and utter loss. The Chair also mentioned that the session would be adjourned after observer interventions, but then adjourned it without doing so—continuing the trend of limited participation for civil society, scientists, wastepickers, and Indigenous Peoples throughout the negotiations. 

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Notes to the editor

• PR translations in several languages will be available here in the next approx 12 hours.
• Photos and videos are available here
• POPLites Daily INC-5.2 Summary here 
• Events to feature:
  • Actions + Press Conferences by BFFP Members and allies
    • Action: “Fix the process. Keep your promise. End Plastic Pollution.”
    • Action opposing the INC Chair’s (first) new draft text 
    • Press conference before the penultimate plenary (which was supposed to be the final plenary)
  • Indigenous Peoples Day press conference
  • Waste Picker press conference
  • Greenpeace “oil” action & banner drop outside of the Palais
  • Press conferences and/or other actions
    • Civil Society press conference
    • GAIA Global South press conference
• (1) CIEL Analysis numbers: The  Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) has been tracking how many fossil fuel and chemical industry lobbyists registered to participate in each round of Plastics Treaty negotiations, beginning at INC-3 in Nairobi, Kenya, and found at least 143 lobbyists at INC-3, 196 lobbyists at INC-4, 220 lobbyists at INC-5, and 234 lobbyists at INC-5.2. These estimates are likely conservative as only those lobbyists that openly disclose their connections were counted.

• What text will be negotiated next? Negotiators will revert back to the Busan text, as both texts presented by the Chair in Geneva were rejected.
• What happens to the INC Chair? The INC Chair is still in place. It’s an elected position.
• What's next for the negotiations? The negotiations will continue, but it’s unclear when and where. The bureau will need to meet and determine that (which is an elected body with representatives from the different UN member regions). Member States could also decide to leave this process altogether and do something different.

About BFFP — #BreakFreeFromPlastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in 2016, more than 2,700 organizations and 11,000 individual supporters from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. BFFP member organizations and individuals share the values of environmental protection and social justice and work together through a holistic approach to bring about systemic change. This means tackling plastic pollution across the whole plastics value chain – from extraction to disposal – focusing on prevention rather than cure and providing effective solutions. www.breakfreefromplastic.org.

• news@breakfreefromplastic.org