During the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, a debate was held on the future of the negotiations in Busan regarding the UN treaty on plastic pollution. The fifth round of negotiations in South Korea was postponed due to a lack of global consensus among the participating countries. PiS MEP Anna Zalewska spoke on behalf of the ECR Group during the debate.
Anna Zalewska noted that the problem of plastic pollution is significant and will continue to grow. “Let’s stop debating and panicking about our inability to reach agreements on global solutions, and let’s show the world how it should be done,” the MEP urged.
“We know full well that we need education, funding, a system, a closed-loop approach, recycling, and both consumer and producer responsibility,” she said, highlighting the issues that must be taken into account when drafting regulations on plastic pollution. “Currently, everyone does as they please, and then the burden falls on the consumer, who is left to figure out how to protect the environment,” said the Polish politician. In light of this, she emphasized the importance of ensuring legal stability. In this context, she referenced the EU packaging directive, which had been unnecessarily amended. “We’ve dismantled a well-organized system concerning, among other things, plastic bottles. We’ve gone back to the system from 30 years ago, to Chinese solutions and materials that we won’t be able to recycle,” said Anna Zalewska.
