The United Nations Basel Convention’s Global Plastic Waste Partnership: History, Evolution and Progress

Abstract The pollution of our marine and terrestrial environment by plastic waste is one of the most pressing global environmental challenges faced today. Developing a circular plastic economy and limiting plastic pollution requires multilevel actions from different stakeholders including oil and petrochemical producers, plastic manufacturers, consumer goods companies, retailers, consumers, waste managers, waste management authorities, plastic recyclers and others. As well as cleaning up the enormous quantities of plastic waste already in our oceans and lakes, there is an urgent need to strengthen countries’ capacities to prevent, minimize and properly manage this waste. The Basel Convention, the most comprehensive global environmental treaty dealing with hazardous and other wastes, offers an important part of the solution. In addition to its provisions aimed at controlling the exports and imports of hazardous wastes and other wastes generated from households and ensuring their environmentally sound management, the Convention also seeks to tackle the problem at its source through prevention and minimization. With the addition of an amendment to the Convention specifically tackling plastic waste, and the establishment of a Plastic Waste Partnership, the Convention is positioned at the forefront in the fight against plastic pollution.