TOMRA has backed calls for a United Nations treaty to address global plastic pollution. The Norway-based company has signed an international corporate manifesto, The Business Call for a UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution, which calls on governments worldwide to agree upon a UN treaty to tackle plastic pollution.
TOMRA calls for urgent UN treaty to tackle plastic pollution
The manifesto, which has been signed by 29 businesses across the world, comes in support of a new report released by the WWF (World Wildlife Fund), management consultancy Boston Consulting Group and circular economy champion the Ellen Macarthur Foundation.
The report warns that a global legally binding environmental agreement negotiated under the auspices of the UN is needed to help stop 11 million metric tonnes of plastic flowing into the ocean each year.
TOMRA president and CEO, Stefan Ranstrand, said: "It is important businesses recognise they have a crucial role to play in tackling the threat posed by plastic pollution and that there is a lot they can do to reduce their environmental impact. This includes a whole range of activities, from auditing business supply chains to improve their sustainability to adopting new business operations that embrace circular economy models and maximize resource value."
As well as businesses taking a proactive approach to waste reduction, TOMRA believes leadership from governments across the globe is key to tackling the plastic pollution crisis. By developing national targets and action plans, supporting sustainable infrastructure development and working to harmonise standards, governments can have a huge impact on plastic waste.
Ranstrand added: "For this to happen, however, we need to see a co-ordinated effort and that is why we're supporting calls for a UN treaty to tackle plastic pollution."
The United Nations Environmental Assembly is expected to take place in February 2021, and has previously adopted several resolutions that recognise plastic pollution as a global problem.